Au Nguyen

Au and I will be volunteer photographers tomorrow at an event at the Native American Center, and we met today to talk about our approach (he’ll get group shots with his wide angle, I’ll concentrate on faces, and we’ll both take whatever calls to us). He had asked me to bring my photos of Namibia 30 years ago, and I showed him those and returned his book of Ansel Adams’ photos of a Japanese Internment Camp in the 1940s. We talked photography, film, and politics, and we laughed that we have both been called radical, cynical, and idealist. Suddenly two hours had flown by.

Before he left to bicycle back across town to his neighborhood (near where Sue lives), I showed him Caleb’s work. Like many of you, he was impressed by the balance, complexity, and beauty of Caleb’s mastery of line and color. I haven’t heard from Caleb, and I begin to suspect I won’t, but he left another piece of art around the corner from the first, so Au and I had two to admire. I sent Au this photo, and he was pleased to note I "included the fancy Covid handkerchief." The sign of our times.

I’m taking your generosity on yesterday’s journal as a tribute to Margie, whose wisdom has been blowing us all away for years and still does. Thank you, thank you from us both.