Starz

I don't know if I ever explained the photo above.  Actually I don't know if it's explicable.  Maybe it's just a cryptic key to The Family.

Front and left is my brother Pat, with a smile that hides his inner evil; sort of next to him is Chris in green glasses and (gasp!) no ball cap, with Emma on his shoulders; back row, yellow glasses and gray hair blending into the wall hanging is me and beside me Sarah---smiling as though she really likes us.  In front of me is Bruce with Julia in her matching glasses and unmatching pout; then Robyn and Emily, both of whom look remarkably tattooless, although only one of them actually is.  Dave, entirely comfortable with his feminine side, looks like a calm Buddha.

It was one of those family-centred days:  Our son Chris was moving to another city, so we got together as many of the family members as possible and had dinner together.  That's what we do: eat.  Then sometimes, we take pictures of each other, even when one of us, Morgan-who's-married-to Emily to be precise, is not with us.

I can't remember how or why we got the sunglasses, but we wore them for hours---at least some of us did, and as we grew sillier and and some of us more inebriated, we thought a family collage would be the perfect going-away photo for Chris.  Dave posed us on the couch, set up the timer, zipped back into his place and voilà.

I was right---this is the perfect going-away photo for Chris.  Unfortunately, I never printed it, and Chris is the last computer hold-out I know, so he's never seen it.

Maybe that's kindest.