Blurry Eyed

I was going through some of the old photos that I scanned and came across the photo above. Apparently, as I burst into puberty, I was the victim of some seriously dorky looks. The pimples, the bad haircuts, and pants pulled nearly up to my nipples, made for some horrible pictures. Sure, I was a cute kid before hitting that puberty wall. And after all those hormones got settled in I did start looking normal again. But oh, those years from twelve through fourteen years old, I was a mess. And it wasn't only my looks, my sexuality tried to do me in. Whereas all my friends seemed to be suddenly discovering females, I was discovering my friends. After a few disastrous episodes, I did manage to reign that beast in. At least until the year I graduated high school. Still, those photos that remind me of that time do exist and I'm kind of glad. They remind me of what life was like and just how much better it can be. That one photo above tells it all. Look at all my brothers and sisters. They all look happy and normal. Then there I am, tall with a buzz cut and blurry eyes. For some reason, when I was at that age, my eyes would start watering whenever I needed them to not do that. Like when that photo was taken. A very weird time for me.

At 13 with my older brother, Dave