My Son the .... ??

When it came time to declare a major ... I had no idea what I was going to do. Books and Libraries (we called it Books'n baries) was my favorite class. I was crushed when I heard it was only a required freshman course and not a major. What a shame ... I was really good at the Dewey Decimal System.

I always wanted to be that kid who knew exactly what he wanted to be from day one ... so focused ... at 4 years old deciding to be a nuclear physicist or a school teacher or an attorney or a garbage man (okay ... that was me. I guess I did focus on something. I thought hanging on the truck looked like fun).

My roommate, Barry, was that kid. It was always Architecture for him. I thought to myself ... you know, since I couldn't come up with anything that sounded cool ... I'll do it too.

So Barry and I signed up together for our classes and then went shopping for Architecture supplies.

Whoa. In those days, before computers, every thing was designed and measured and modelled by hand. We needed drawing boards ... we also needed special pens, drawing tools, rolls of paper the size of Louisiana. Two part time jobs later, I almost had enough money to cover one of the rapidiograph pens.

Barry had an unbelievable work ethic. He came home from classes, immediately got to work and was in bed by 9PM. I too had an ethic ... non work related ... I did everything BUT study. I saved that until 9PM when Barry was asleep. I didn't do this on purpose. There were just so many distraction: television, beer, girls, beer, televison, beer ... oh and there was a fly once in my room that just wouldn't go away.

Needless to say, Barry is now a very successful architect ... actually a city planner and landscape architect ... in New Orleans. Riverwalk and Jackson Brewery are both his handiwork.

Barry and I have so much in common. I visited them both .