Hat Cat

This is me 33 years ago with my cat, Dorothy Parker, outside my apartment in Lexington, KY. 

My friend, Dave Cronen, who I visited in KY last week, mentioned that he was getting through a pile of old photo stuff, and might just uncover this negative.  I thought I would give him a big hint as to what my print looks like these days.  The years have not been exactly kind, to the print or to myself.  My daughter is presently just about the same age that I am in this picture.  The next year, when I turned 25, Dave gave me a  blue t-shirt that had my initials on the front in yellow, and in the back it  read (also in yellow), "1/4 Century."  I was slightly offended at the time, but now it's a great memory.  Just like most of the memories associated with Dave, from stoop sitting, to watching the Godfather on the Sony tv a bunch of us chipped in to get him for his birthday, to when he broke both his wrists at the same time (bad idea when you are a photographer), to the "Craw" story. 

Dave and I had either picked up our friend Mary Pat (she of the recent trip to Hawaii fame) at the University of Illinois Circle campus in Chicago, or we were driving her there.  It was a 6 hour drive.  Through the better part of the drive, Dave kept urging Mary to say, "Go to sleep little craw."  She refused time and time again.  Finally after about 5 hours of pressure, she caved and said, "Go to sleep little, craw."  With that, Dave curled up the fingers on his right hand and turned to the back seat, waving his hand and shouting, "Da Craw never sleeps!" 

That was and that is Dave.  His essence has not changed in all these years.