Still Life with Camera

Friday was move in day for Charlie. We left the house at 6:00 am since the dorm he's in is a highrise in downtown Chicago. Neither one of us wanted to worry about where to park, etc. We arrived by about 7:15 and parked in the lot right next door to The Buckingham, as the dorm is called. It's a building shared by 2 or 3 downtown colleges: Columbia College (where Charlie is going), Roosevelt, and De Paul, I think. Charlie's moving on Columbia had things pretty well organized. They had "speed packs" available for us, which made it really easy to move a lot in one load. Those of us who were early had to wait a bit until the RAs got things organized inside. Why is everyone smilling except Charlie? Once we got inside they had different stations set up for emergency contact information, getting ids made, etc. Here's the view to the west from Charlie's room on the 18th floor. That's the public library in the middle of the pic with all the...

My kids had the good luck to spend all of their growing up years in one town. So they have friends that they've known since nursery school. Marty is one of those friends to Charlie. The first time I became aware of Marty (or was it Richie? they're identical twins) was when he fell off the slide and broke his arm. Marty was 4, Charlie was 3. Now they're in their 30's and still in daily contact. Charlie is tall, blond and an extreme introvert. Marty is short, dark and an extreme extrovert. Marty's whirlwind visits wear Charlie out (not that he'd have it any other way) with their constant round of visits to friends and family. We were Marty's alternate parents for a while when his parents divorced and his mother decided to pursue a long-delayed (after raising 10 kids) bachelor's degree. He's slept on all our couches and guest beds at one time or another. It's always great to see him! And as you can see, Charlie rarely allows a pictur...