When we lived in Greenbelt, our big back yard was fenced. We moved to Silver Spring when Paul was almost 2 years old. We couldn't leave him in the back yard because he kept running around to the front to watch the cars go by - he loved cars!! So one of the first things we had to do at the new house was to build a fence around the yard to keep Paul safe.
Paul and Stephanie visiting us after sitting on 95 for hours in a terrible backup. The relief of letting the dogs run while we drank wine and talked, four tired people just glad to be together in the old house.
Visiting Paul in Vermont when Tory was little - sharing dinners, walks with the dogs, quiet time among the green mountains. I'd never used an espresso machine, so to keep me from blowing the valve on his machine, he made me a cup before he left for work, ready when I woke up. We went for Ben & Jerry's, of course, and he showed us his favorite spots in Burlington.
Paul taking the photos at my wedding - a few traditional ones, but mostly really thoughtful art shots of the things people were doing throughout the day. My favorite is of Peter, maybe 4, 5 years old, wrapped in a sweatshirt, crouched on the beach at the "second" reception. The most truthful - me, in profile at the altar, directing traffic as the bridesmaids and groomsmen mill around me during for photos after the ceremony.
Letting him into the Phillips' house when I was petsitting for them, so he could weigh his weed on the balance scale Craig kept in the roach room. Paul never offered me any, too cheap or too smart? I like to think he was looking out for me...
Montgomery Hills Junior High - and what a very good thing it was to have a cool older brother. He even talked to me sometimes, while we were waiting for the school bus to arrive.
Hunting quartz crystals at the quarry - perching on the sloped, concrete side of an underpass as a train whizzed by...terrified, but thrilled that he included me in his adventure - walking to 7-11 to buy nutty buddies, I never walked there by myself, too scared to cross Capitol View without him - sledding down the hill, through the woods behind McKenney Hills Elementary School...I never made it the whole way down, but he could slide all the way along the path between the trees and into the creek.
A Christmas present, a small stuffed dog, given when I was still very small and the only money he had was what mom and dad gave us to buy gifts for everyone - there's a picture of me somewhere, holding it up and grinning. He liked to give little presents - other times he gave me a carved quartz horse, a Mustang logo he must have stolen off a car during his acquisitive stage, the huge, round, plastic Mobil sign (with the red pegasus) that fell off of Stakem's garage during a storm, one of his welded dragons, random phone calls just to say Hi, I love you...he was always generous of spirit.
I remember visiting Paul in Vermont. Taking the two little black dogs out for a walk in the dog park. He was so were delighted to see them run and run -- off the leash.
