2009-02-01


I made this portrait of my friend years ago on his 69th birthday. A handsome man who, when I showed him the Polaroid (yeah, that long ago) he said "Oh Tom, guess what?" (What... Gene?). "I am an old man". I told him that everyone knew that, except (apparently) him.

I see, on a pretty regular basis, older guys making idiots of themselves around younger women and I think some of that is an inner vision of themselves that stopped aging somewhere around college. They deny what is revealed in the mirror every day, by engrossing themselves in detail; the beard, the hair, the clothes. And they continue to hit on girls that are grossed out by their incredible lack of self awareness.

I decided that day with my friend Gene, that I didn't want to wake up one day with the startling realization that I was old. I'd rather keep track of what I look like and not be shocked like Dave in 2001 A Space Odessy, suddenly seeing myself sinking into my death bed, and wondering, "when did I get old?"... t



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was perusing the updates for friends on FB and noticed your comment on Billy Newman's photo. I clicked over to your blog; hope you don't mind that I read it and looked through some of your other pictures and comments. I do agree with you about the 'aging'. I rarely have pictures of myself because they remind me I'm not exactly the way I remember, that and I don't photograph well. Your notes are interesting and detailed, it is amazing how people react to their own photo and all the things we read into each picture.
thanks
lisa miles

T.W. Meyer said...

Thanks Lisa for taking the time. You have doubled the hits I've received at contiguous moment. It's sort of my public/secret world/notebook to myself. I'm glad you felt compelled to write something in return. I may have to "friend" you on FB now,just to see what you are up to. Live well... t

Peter said...

Tom;
I think of myself as being (not looking) 32..34..y/o, not in terms of how appealing I might be to a 28 y/o woman (not much!), but in terms of how I relate to them and with them...how they and I think, play, talk...that is when I am not being 12. P

BTW love the site!