My buddy Norman is 86 and files newspaper clippings about anything that contains a Jewish reference. A Schwartz obituary? Filed. Jewish cemetery builds a mausoleum? Filed. He showed them all to me today. At least, he showed me St-Ta in the person series and the North Suburb binder in "places and buildings." Then we looked at the typed speech his father made during Norman's Eagle Scout award ceremony in 1937 and I got to hold the 50-year-old sash featuring his merit badges.
When I saw a photo of Norman as a teenager, I said "look at you hot stuff, did you have a lot of girlfriends?" Dead serious he said, "none till I met my wife." He met her when he was 52 and he hasn't taken off his ring since she passed away in 1991. Such love.
Norman embraces history like it's his own flesh and blood. I wonder if he had had a child if he would have collected different things. Books stuffed with father's day cards or clippings of his grandchildren's sports games. He makes me want to take him outside to generate new memories, maybe for a new binder series.
I almost invited him to the Jeff Koons' exhibit with me when I left. The museum is just down the street from his apartment, but I didn't think sculptures of giant balloon animals would fit with his aesthetic. And really, at 86, you know who you are. Respect, Norman. Respect.
