I’ve posted some other pictures of high school days but this one is more accurate because I spent most of my time from ninth grade on trying to cover acne pits with what beard I could grow.

But I really like this picture because, despite the retro hippy hair and the parachute pants and the (ugh) sunglasses that I am holding in my hand so that I can later use them to pilot my bicycle through the night!, and other tokens of stupidity, for some reason–maybe the way the light hits my face–the first thing that jumps out at me are the angles and shapes that are to my mind the key features of my dad’s face. I can see him clearly.

Depending when this picture was taken we may have been as alienated as we have ever been. Or that sad chapter may have concluded. I can’t say with any certainty.

Either way, it doesn’t matter; I can still see him there.