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2002-04-15 Math professor Todd, overhearing on the telephone ask "Are mom and dad there yet?" smiled the kind of smile mathematicians smile when they grasp a foothold in the first feel of a theorem. "Soo...you live with your sister." Correct. "I remember living with my brother for a year, finding out how alike we were even though he was always really athletic, etc". A sidejoke about juggling balls in the corner and his athleticism. It's okay, you know, except my parents try to pry kid cop spy points from me. The responsibility is sometimes lopsided. Only a few months to go, it ain't so bad. He shakes his head in that giddy way looking away from me with one ankle propped on the other leg's knee. He propels into the next task at hand, having me build a website for the Calculus series. "Do this (type type type ga tech) or maybe something like this (type) look matrix brackets (type type) Northwestern". A little personal exchange of matching histories diverts enthusiasm elsewhere on a sunny Friday afternoon. It's something that we share. Our best version of sincerity illuminated with raw enthusiasm. Our whole person. Out there. A moving target. But moving, nonetheless. We never discuss too below it, but still know it's there. Little moments when I've tried to explain things to him: You see, it might not make sense to you, but Charlie Parker is spring whereas John Coltrane is fall. "It makes amazing sense oddly enough." We merge well. It's just these afternoons with Todd are sure to end soon, as are most with people on this campus. A small living remembrance. Bookmarked. |