Visual aids

My wife, with her mad image-hosting skills yo, set up a couple pictures to help dispel whatever mental image you may have had of me.



The wife and I in Scotland, 2003, just as "shock and awe" were about level the cradle of civilization into rubble. We were halfway through a trip of England, Scotland and Paris when this photo was taken on a typically morose Scottish day. Just FYI, the back of my jacket is shredded after a ruckus with a castle gate. Also, I'm 20 pounds lighter and I have a less dorky haircut.

Last year, we lost our dear eight-year-old black cat Maya to feline cancer. We missed her terribly and her step-sister Maddy (left) was lonely, sniffing around corners and sitting glumly on the couch after Maya was put to rest. A couple months later, we decided to get a kitten. This picture was taken shortly after we got Seamus (right). He was about two months old, and most of his atomic structure was, in fact, fluff. Back then, he was wary of Maddy, shakening visibly whenever she growled at him. Now, about a year later, he's an enormous boy. A furry missile with manic fits of indominable energy. We think, when he's an adult, he'll look like one of these.