So i'm watching "High Fidelity" tonight and i've never noticed it before, but Josh could have played John Cusack's part quite well. I know it isn't quite the part that Josh was usually cast for, but there are quite a few moments where i see these little mannerisms that i remember seeing Josh do.

I dunno...

Maybe i'm just imprinting.

Two Friends Gone in less than 2 Years...

These are pictures of Josh and my dog Bear rough-housing. They were good friends. Bear died of cancer back in May of '07 if i remember correctly.

Josh really loved my dog(s). He would always stop to greet them as soon as he came into our home. There would always be some pets and kisses, and then the playing would commence.

One of the sweetest most devoted things Josh ever did for me and my family was to come to my home the day we had to put Bear to sleep. We were lucky enough to have a vet who had told us when the time came, they would come to us. (The folks at the vet loved Bear and were in tears when they found out that he had cancer.) That time came i believe on Mother's Day. I tried calling a couple of my friends that were closer first to see if they could come and help me. We were going to have to get Bear into the back of the vets truck afterward. Bear weighed over a 100 pounds. In life i could lift him by myself, but i wasn't sure what i would be able to do after he was dead. I managed to get a hold of Josh and told him what the situation was. He dropped everything and came over right before or after Mother's Day dinner with his family.

Josh supported us that day and helped me get Bear out to the vet's truck so he could be cremated. That's the kind of person Josh was and i loved him for it.

I never thought that less than two years later i would be mourning them both. I see them a lot in my dreams now. And they still play.

My dogs were some of Josh's favorite subjects to shoot with his camera. I include a couple of those shots below.

Her Kinda Guy

My mother-in-law is in town. She’s a great lady and we get along swell despite the fact that I don’t speak Japanese and she speaks only a little English.

I was doing a quick post when my wife noticed that I was on this blog and she called her mom over to take a look. You see, my mother-in-law had actually met Josh in 2005 and was very sad to hear that he had passed away. I played the memorial video (see here) and she marveled at how handsome he was when he was young and clean cut.

This gave me a little chuckle because way back in 2005 after she meet Josh, she told her daughter that she found Josh attractive and the he was her kinda guy. Well, I found this amusing and cute. Mrs. Swinebread on the other hand was stunned because she really didn’t want to know her own mother’s likes and dislikes when it came to men. I can understand my wife's feeling but to me her mother's innocent statement was like noticing the attractiveness of a good actor or public figure. Plus, Josh was such a kind, gentle soul that I think my mother-in-law found his caring demeanor very charming.

I never told Josh that my mother-in-law from Japan found him to be a good looking guy as I thought he might feel a little weird about it.

Josh appealed to folks on so many levels and this fun little memory reminded me that one of those levels was sexiness. Josh was a sexy guy. He was appealing in that shy, quiet way. I obviously didn’t think about this very much being his friend and all but for some of you gals out there, I know it’s another facet of Josh you will miss. It’s just one more way he was your kinda guy.



-Swinebread

Josh Google Day

I've been periodically googling Josh's name in the image function and finally pictures of Josh are coming up.

see here

It's good to see my smiling buddy out there on the net and I'm so glad it is because of this blog that Josh is now showing up.


-Swinebread

Home and the Kitsch That Builds It

I've had my new home here in Billings now for 20 days. Boxes are slowly opening, and their contents march to their homes on shelves and small tables. 55-degree days are punctuated by snowy ones (I hear that this weekend will be no different), and old pictures taken of and by Josh smile happily when I pluck their frames from their newsprint packing material.

I listen to Moxy Fruvous. I listen to the words. "Your mother made you cry when she told you about the womb, and how people die."

The photo of Josh at Larrabee hangs in my studio. The photo Joshua took of my wife and me stands poised on a shelf above my favorite books.

I am reminded every day now that my house is less of a home for the loss of his presence, and that the photographs are a cold, vivid loneliness in comparison to the companionship I have enjoyed all these years.

Acceptance is a bitter, bitter swill. I miss my friend.

The Rest of The Adventures of Amyman and the Amazing Men

Here we go with the rest of the show

Scenes 4, 5, & 6



Scenes 7 & 8



Scene 9



Scenes 10 & 11



Scene 12



-Swinebread