Crazy old people
Last weekend while in Indianapolis, I stayed with one of my best friends, Steve, who I grew up with. He’s a professor of Spanish Literature at Indiana University in Bloomington. His dissertation was on Medieval Spanish Literature; he’s a recognized expert on Cervantes and on mythology in literature. He’s a published author - his recent book is titled “The Literature of Jealousy in the Age of Cervantes.” In other words, Steve is an intellectual, and a responsible one.
But this isn’t the Steve I know… the one I grew up with was a maniac. There are many stories that could get Steve in trouble, so I’ll refrain. We had an unleashed youth, but today Steve looks like the professor that he is. He is responsible, he loves his wife and two daughters, his students love him (especially since some of the maniac remains, and he seems to like jumping on his desk in the middle of lectures), he works hard, publishes scholarly papers and books and is quite happy in this near role reversal. People get older, and they are the sum of every day of their lives. The older I get, the more I look at the really elderly and wonder what lives and stories lay buried deep in their past. I used to look at old people and young people and think that our ages were fixed. Some old man in a store had always been old, just like I’d always been young. The older I get, the more I understand that we are all the same, and this makes me feel closer to everyone. Steve and I toured around France and Spain in the 80’s - I shot this image of him in Barcelona.
Tags: Friends · Images · Ruminations
4 responses so far ↓
1 Bethany // May 22, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Xavier,
I’m so sorry I missed you at the Broad Ripple Art fair! I just moved to Indiana a year ago and got my postcard during the week after the show. I’m excited about your blog as well as the new format on the website(perhaps it isn’t new, but I haven’t looked in a while). I’m looking forward to seeing you in Ann Arbor later this summer. Hope you’re keeping well…
Bethany
2 X // May 22, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hey Bethany, hope you’re enjoying Indiana! Pls send me your new address.
3 Viv // Jul 10, 2008 at 6:57 am
Hi X,
Yup..it’s me…Viviane, you know, from the PAST. Your work is awesome. You are so gifted. Seeing your art is a reminder of the importance of allowing children and teens to truely express themselves artistically. You were a brilliant artist when you were fifteen years old. I still have my XAVIER book. Remember the laundramat when we went to Ottawa? If I had a piece of art to remind me of our youth together, it would be rich and full of freedom. Take care.
Viv
4 X // Jul 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Hey Viv! Thanks so much for writing! I’m happy you like my work- its been a long slow climb full of peaks and valleys.. I hope all is going well for you..
and I hope we can get together, it would be great to catch up. If you’d like to visit San Francisco, you have a place to stay, plus a free tour guide (me).
If there’s a particular image that you like, let me know and I’ll send you a gift.
Our (my) youth in Tracy seems so idealized now. I also remember it as being rich and full of freedom, and I think for the most part thats what we had. I have so many great memories of our time together.
Take care and Cheers!
X
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