I think if I showed this picture to you and said nothing about it, you probably wouldn't know who it is.
An old picture, for sure, very old, from early in the last century. It'd be around 100 years ago. And how old would this young man be - maybe 20?
Does he look like a young man who's going places, someone unstoppable, or do we only deduce that in retrospect? I can deduce one thing for sure - I know he wasn't short of girl friends.
The fierce eyes looking off into the middle distance also have a dreamy quality, even a kindness. I don't think this man was mean, for all his drive and occasional explosiveness. Could he help it if the child in him never really grew up? Was that, in fact, the source of his compelling charm and endless creativity?
The only thing I know for sure is that I will never root him out of my heart. He has been part of my life for some five years now, and for the most part the journey has been wonderful. I still keep making discoveries, like this magnificent old photo, just when I think I've come to the bottom of the barrel.