photo of an elusive teenager

At the Boston Fine Arts museum, trying to see the depth in the black. 

Happy MLK day.....it's very quiet at the office, so I thought I would put up the only photo we took of F over break. (Thank God for MMB, otherwise we would have very little record of his childhood.) I am procrastinating because PEA wants the parents to write a recommendation for their own children to help the college counselor better know the kid. Thomas is of course ducking, so it's on me. 

Luckily I have at least chosen the musical soundtrack for writing it- Scott Joplin's 'Solace-a Mexican Serenade'. My father would have approved of course- he played Scott Joplin all the time, especially in his car when he took us for drives after dinner in Inverness. He was probably a little tipsy, and Scott Joplin is perfect for nostalgia-  there is just no other music that is so sad and comforting at the same time. But make sure you don't listen to just anyone...it has to be Joshua Rifkin. His version of Solace is the only one that's played slowly enough. 

Writing about Frederick's odyssey is going to be tough-the cushier the journey, the harder it is to make interesting. He thinks he would like to study the stars or maybe just physics, and he wouldn't mind if he never had to take another English class again. He thinks people in general, and his parents in particular, should be doing more for humanity (he tells us this often). He himself doesn't do much in this regard; but his argument is he isn't even allowed to vote, and he has a 9 pm curfew. 

Point taken. 

I think the best thing I can say about Frederick having had an abundant childhood filled with uncles and travel with lots to eat and warm houses to eat in, is he doesn't see the world as a zero sum game. At his core he believes there is enough to go around- so he doles it out, helping other students in class and paying for their hamburgers.  He is a good tipper that kid. 

Might not be enough for MIT; but it's enough for me. 

xx