One Book

I have been doing a lot of thinking about how I will pay for my partner’s college, when they stopped student loans in his country. Although he works very hard, and is paid there is no room for anything but the most basic necessities. I was thinking of selling my art collection starting with the best piece, which in my mind would help me quickly get over it. I was in contact with museums that specialize in the area my collection is in. Today, I was very surprised by a healthy check from an old lawsuit I joined three or four years ago. It is almost the same amount I needed to complete the remaining school tuition he needs. Feeling extremely lucky I took a walk on the beach to give thanks and to reflect.

When I was a young boy at 6 or 7, I became fascinated with The Family of Man, by Edward Steichen. My parents had it on the coffee table, and it provided with one of first insights I had to the outside world. An image in the book showed naked, happy, dancing boys in the savannahs of Africa. What was odd to my child brain was not they were happy but the poverty they had. This photo stuck with me. Even though we were never well off, we had clothes and were well fed. It played an integral part in my being and eventually came to play into a few of my relationships. The ones were I felt I was helping someone less fortunate than myself. Blessed by my loving parents who keep on inspiring me…sometimes unknowingly.