kisses are a better fate than wisdom's photostream

THE HISTORY SECTION
I got off to a pretty rough start in this lifetime...I was nearly paralyzed by a car accident at the tender age of five. I am fortunate to be walking and talking; to be typing these very words. On a hot summer night, I was playing directly in the street in front of our house--a normally safe and quiet cul-de-sac. A drunk driver was trying to turn his car around on our street, was not looking, and ran me right over. With both axles. Broke each of my legs above & below the knee; broke several ribs; even cracked my skull. When later explaining to my parents what had happened to my hips, the doctor placed some potato chips on the cold stainless steel counter & slowly smashed them with the base of his hand. And shook his head. At one point, my right leg was 2" longer than the left. I was in the hospital for nine months, learning how to walk and talk all over again (Important life skills which I had begun to master all of two years before.) I missed most of kindergarten & my friends terribly.

The (pessimistic) prognosis was that... #1 - I would eventually be able to walk without much assistance, but would never play any sports. #2 - Thanks to some inner ear and nerve damage, I would struggle with hearing, languages in general, and would likely be a slow learner. Fantastic stuff for a five year old boy to overhear... and all the motivation this one needed!! I spent the next 20 years proving them wrong. I rowed first boat for my ivy league college and the US national team development camp. I graduated cum laude, lived in Barcelona and studied in Paris or a few years, and got my advanced degree in economics at Sciences Po. Only then did I learn to let it go; to let it all go, to breathe and forgive.

I tell you all this not to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that anything is possible--if you put your mind to it!To this day, my favorite word is "yes". "Quit" has no place in my life.

I am ecstatic to be alive on this planet, and in love with the fragile gift of each day. I'm told that my intensity and energy level can be a bit annoying :-) I spend my mornings sculling on the Charles river when it is not frozen & running around it when it is; my days talking investments with clients; my evenings out to dinner in Boston; my weekends travelling, reading, or hiking.

I don't go a day without: learning, laughing, playing with my golden retriever, & forgiving.



THE SCREEN NAME EXPLAINED
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom....

--ee cummings

THE GEOGRAPHY SECTION
I live in Boston now, and have lived in: DC, Barcelona, Paris, London, and Montreal. I grew up outside Philly.


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THE REQUIRED PHOTOGRAPHY PIECE
I am very new to this hobby; an amateur with lots to learn. I am in awe of the profound creativity that I see here on flickr. I am humbled by and grateful for the many outstanding examples to inspire me, and the accesibility of so much friendly talent!