the process of remembering: a photoblog by andrew huth

“Birthday Smiles”

My way of saying happy birthday to my brother-in-law Rich the best way I know how—through the lens of my camera.  Behind the jokester persona, Rich is an exceedingly gentle, kind, generous and thoughtful human being.  Once I got to know him I could easily see why my sister fell in love.  A talented cook, an expressive singer, a playful husband, a giving and dedicated son and a grateful father.  Just a few things that I have noticed about him over the years.  I’m most grateful though that he is not only my family, but also my friend.  Happy 35th birthday dude.

One funny story about Rich: Shortly after moving down to the Philadelphia area, my sister and Rich invited Heather and me to their house to watch football and enjoy a cookout.  The Eagles were playing.  Rich has been a season ticket holder since he use to attend the games with his father back in the day so this dude is a fan through and through.  I enjoy my sports, but for me watching sports isn’t very fun (with the exception of soccer) unless I am watching it with someone who truly gets into it.

On this particular day the game was as games should be—close and exciting—and towards the end of the game the momentum swung back and forth several times.  Yet I found myself not paying much attention to the game because of what was taking place in the room.  With seconds left on the game the Eagles made a play that, had they converted on it, would have won the day for them.  At the apex of that moment, I watched with great pleasure this grown man jump to the middle of the room with both arms in the air (one fist clenched in anticipation and the other clenched in hope) and with his yell attempte to will the play towards his team’s advantage.

As all stories like this must follow from time to time, the play was a failure (at least for the Eagles) and as the outcome became clear I watched Rich fall to his knees followed shortly by the rest of his body—plopping forward face first in defeat.  I was thinking to myself, who cares about the outcome of that game when I could witness such enthusiasm in person.  The best part is that even though Rich is a fan, he understands that a game is simply that—a game—and as such easily moved on afterwards.  Just one more thing I respect him for.