Pictures 1

There’s this picture of my family. We’re all on an airplane probably going to the Philippines. I can’t be more than a few months old. A year, tops. I’m propped up in a bassinet attached to the bulkhead. It seems dangerous, actually. My brothers, at the time 8 or 9 and 9 or 10, are making funny faces while being held as still as possible by our parents. They’re mid-squirm; they don’t want to be still. My parents don’t seem at all annoyed. They look happy and sort of smug. It’s impossible to tell how far along we are on that endless flight. Could be before takeoff. Could be 10 hours in. I can’t imagine there’d be no trace of aggravation in my parents’ faces, though, if we were that far in.

Anyway, even though I am basically an infant, I’m the only person in the picture who’s looking at the camera. I think that is significant in some way.