Brian

Brian, age 5

Las Vegas, New Mexico (1973)

Here I am, with my cousin Terri - my first, smartest, and sassiest friend.

This image was rescued by my uncle from one of those photo buttons they sometimes sold at carnivals and in the 1970's. The carny would snap a Polaroid picture and use a big metal contraption to cut and encase the actual photograph inside a saucer-sized "button."

I think my parents paid for the photo-button to be made as a gift for my grandmother, because it sat accusingly on her family picture sideboard for decades. More recently, my photographer uncle digitized the photograph itself by dismantling the button. I have no idea why he then color treated the image.

I was quiet, sensitive, and non-athletic from the get go. I cared little for typical boy things, like playing outside, running, or throwing balls at people. And I only participated in such activities under duress, or my father's intimidating insistence.

I much preferred to watch TV, crayon-color, or play with my collection of GI Joe, Ken and Six Million Dollar Man dolls.

And I learned early on that the best protection from mean boys was a tough, fearless girl. It was not until the 2nd grade that I consciously trained myself never to show a dangly or "limp" wrist.

Brian's first, famous-person same sex crushes:
Matthew Laborteaux (Albert from "Little House on the Prairie")
Ike Eisenmann (Tony from "Witch Mountain" movies) 
Zan (from "Superfriends")
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