A Happy Easter with Friends and Sad News From Home

Another Easter has come and gone, and I had the opportunity to spend it with my friends Kyle and Dana in Madison, WI. I met Dana when I was a field application specialist with Bio-Rad and she was an account manager. We both hit it off quite well, as Dana is one of those rare brainy cool chicks (lets face it, brainy cool dudes are rare, too). During one of my working trips to Madison, Dana invited me to have dinner with her and her husband. Kyle and I hit it off immediately. I got the feeling that he and I were a lot alike in terms of making friends in that we have a lot of acquaintances but very few good friends. I view Dana and Kyle as close to me as being my brother and sister, and friendships like that are very rare. This visit, I spent some time with the new addition to their family, Alex. He is 14 lbs now, and is just about 2.5 months old (sorry about not knowing the exact date, Dana). I loved spending the weekend with them. My schedule is about to get wicked busy with the onset of exams, so this was a welcome respite from the craziness that is law school. In spite of the business of having a newborn in the house, Kyle and Dana were gracious hosts, and I always feel so much at home when I visit them. They always take care of me, and I have to remind them that payback will be coming when I finish school. I want to do something for SO many people who have helped me (my brother [wow do I owe him], my parents, Aaron and Julie, and Dana and Kyle…and Alex too!). Alex is an extremely cute child, and I came away from my visit with the firm belief that guys have biological clocks too. I also love visiting with their dogs Meg and Jack. I think that they love me too, and nothing validates you more than when dogs and babies love you. I am feeling pretty good about myself. This thank-you goes out to Kyle and Dana.

I made my way back to Chicago, and I am now hard at work on law school stuff. I also want to get a card for a dear family friend who, I found out, has cancer. Vernon Netto (or Uncle Vernon to me) is an accomplished urologist from Poquoson, VA. He and his wife (Aunt Molly to me) were two of my parents’ good friends from the time I was extremely young. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Molly never had kids, but the result was that they treated my brother and me as if we were their own. There were gifts when we visited, and they both made a big fuss over us whenever we saw them. Their influence on my life is even a bit more than I think they even know, for I can actually trace my earliest fascination with cooking to my visits to their home. Uncle Vernon was a foodie before there WERE foodies. He and Aunt Molly always made elaborate, homemade dishes and were early devotees of Julia Child. They both have an infectious zest for life that really affected those around them, and I have never reflected on how important they were to me from a very young age. When I was in college, Uncle Vernon was in town, and he called me up to invite me out to dinner. Now, as a college student, I would have been thrilled with a burger and fries, but Uncle Vernon proceeded to take me to a VERY expensive French restaurant. When I hesitated about ordering something from the menu, he ordered for both of us-and it was one of the most delicious meals I had ever eaten. I learned a lot about food and friendship from that evening, and I remember it to this day.

I learned today about Uncle Vernon’s weakened condition, and my heart sank. I cannot imagine the world without him even though I have not interacted with him in years. He has, as I said before, an incredible and infectious zest for life. I hope that I get a chance to see him. I hope that he can read this entry. If those of you who are reading would throw out a prayer for Uncle Vernon, I would appreciate it.