Little Sister

[randy_byers]

I'm not sure I'd ever seen this picture before it flashed across the screen in a slideshow at my niece's wedding rehearsal dinner last summer. That's my niece sitting in my lap at my brother's wedding at the parental home in Portland in 1983. As too often in pictures of me, I look completely wasted, but at least pleasantly so in this one. She looks like an elf child. I was the best man at the wedding, and she was supposed to be the flower girl. She chickened out at the last minute. I'm still in uniform, but she's looking pretty Mickey Mouse.

This was the year I lived with my parents along with my sister and niece while I finished my Bachelors degree and my sister worked on her Masters. One evening my niece asked if I'd be her big brother, since she didn't have a brother or sister. I said I'd be happy to be her big brother.

I'm pretty happy to have a copy of this photo now, which I just remembered to ask for last week.

Comments

[e-compass-rosa.livejournal.com]

You might look wasted, but it's a clean cut wasted. And so darn cute!!

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Such a kid!

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

That's such a cute picture -- of the two of you!

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I like how happy we look.

[kdotdammit.livejournal.com]

Adorably wasted. Yes.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I adored getting wasted, that's for sure.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

OMG you look so *straight*.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Ahahahahahaha. You should see my senior picture from high school. I was actually thinking about this last night, and thinking how it was probably getting snubbed by Sharee at the Worldcon in '84 that led me to adopt a more rad look, because she was wearing a mohawk at the con. It only took twenty years for it to pay off!

But that's probably a mythological explanation anyway. There were a lot of factors working away at my facade in my college years, and moving to Seattle in '84 opened a number of doors and several other cans of worms.

[puffpastry.livejournal.com]

Hi there --
I just added you to my friends list -- I hope that's okay. I saw your comment on e_compass_rosa's blog, and the word "Fringe" caught my eye because I tour Fringe Theatre Festivals all over the US and Canada, but it seems to be that that's not what your name refers to, which doesn't end up mattering, because your LJ is really interesting! I used to live in Seattle, and I miss it very very much...also, you're one of the only LJers besides myself who's not 15 years old, which I find extremely comforting. So, hello, and thanks for the lovely and literate LJ entries! :-)

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for this notice! It's true that my fringe is different than yours, but I see we have an interest in Johnny Depp in common, so that's good. Is that what you mean by "literate"? Ho ho ho. By the way, my Friends list probably doesn't have very many people who are under 30, let alone 15. For some reason 15 year olds don't seem to have been attracted to this LJ, even though it's completely public! I must not write about sex enough. Anyway, cheers.

[iggyspawn.livejournal.com]

Wow, if I'd been shown that picture cold I wouldn't have recognized you.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Hey! Long time no see!

When I went to an old high school friend's reception probably a decade ago, another high school classmate of mine told me that my appearance had changed the most of anyone in our class. Not sure if that's really an accomplishment, but it made me happy anyway.