the process of remembering: a photoblog by andrew huth

The Hang 2009 Part 4

Suzy and Karen smile looking at old photos Kristine put together for Rachel’s birthday.  Suzy and Karen are treasured friends of mine.  Rarely have I met two people who are as generous with their laughter as these two are.  This isn’t to say that they are a couple of goofy women (that would be me—the goofy part that is).  They are both fiercely intelligent and intensely thoughtful, but they also cause the people around them to beam with joy with their stories, smiles and laughter.  They are the kind of people that make me feel light of heart and comfortable just by being near them.  They are the kind of people that I can be both silent with and engage in thoughtful conversation with.  If you haven’t experienced Derkin’s infectiously unique laughter (I call her that because during our college days she was Susie Derkins to my Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes) then perhaps you aren’t as lucky as me.  Due to Suzy’s busy surgery schedule and Karen having been away in Scotland for the past several years, our little group has missed them dearly at these gatherings.  How awesome was it that they could join us this year yo!  Here is a random side conversation that lead to much laughter this weekend.  I will paraphrase:

Me:  Yeah I had some weird skin spot thing a month or so ago from some bug or plant after weeding (me showing the group the brown spots on my arms looking for sympathy)

Derkins:  Oh, you should see Karen’s arms.  (Karen shows both of her arms which have gargantuan bruising all up and down them!)

All: What the????!!!!

Me:  How the heck did that happen? (clearly feeling like my tiny spots were even smaller looking now)

Karen:  Don’t really know.

Me:  What the heck do you mean you don’t know?  How can you get something like that and not know how you got it?

Karen:  Well, I’m pretty sure it was from the rectaling.

Me & Everyone Else (minus Derkins):  Ahhh what the?! Excuse me what?

Karen:  (as if she were talking about the weather) Oh that’s what you call it when you stick your arms up a cow’s butt to check to see if they are pregnant.

Somebody:  Isn’t there a ahhhhh different, easier way to do that?

Karen or Derkins:  Well you could do an ultrasound, but you would have to stick that in through the rear too so using your hand is just faster.

All I’m saying is if I were caught up in a sketchy situation in a back alley of NYC or Philadelphia I would put Karen in front of me to fight our way out.  By the way both Derkins and Karen are vets (Derkins does small animal surgeries while Karen obviously does large ones).