People Who Matter

Me and Ben H. wearing shades, on a train in France. (Borrowed from Facebook)

My brother, who shares my love of music, singing. (Borrowed from Facebook)

This is my mother, librarian extraordinaire, whose dedication as a mother and literacy advocate are to be admired. Her work with children and the medium of storytelling has helped me develop my interest in folklore and oral history.

At Savor with Shane and my Uncle Eric (among others) listening to Amy, mother of twin boys get drunk off her ass. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Doing crazy things with crazy people as part of R.A. initiation. Dave S on mic – one of my best friends. (Borrowed from Facebook)

At a department formal with friends from the World Languages department (Borrowed from Facebook)

With friends at one of many WVU football games. Football brought so many people together in Morgantown and really helped cement my feeling of belonging and identity as a Mountaineer. (Borrowed from Facebook)

At Lucky Bar in Besancon, where much fun was had and many games were played, most notably – Jungle Speed. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Another World Languages crew getting ready for a football game in Morgantown! (Borrowed from Facebook)

My sister and Mimi & Papa. (Borrowed from Facebook)

At the dreaded Pitt game before everything went wrong. We still had hope for a National Championship at that point. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Peter and Shane. A challenging but fun and memorable experience. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Will and I. A friend if there ever was one. His friendship and help have gotten me through key difficulties in my adult life, for which I am extremely grateful. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Joe, but not just Joe. The whole Energy Express 09 crew from Widmyer. It was a really fun summer. (Borrowed from Facebook)

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My buddy R.J. I guess I’m not in any photos with him, but I consider him a good friend who I do not see or hear from nearly enough. This is a guy that will go to great lengths to share what he knows and he’s a brilliant guy. (Borrowed from Facebook)

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Greg and Mike, who taught me self-confidence and got me through high school. Probably my closest ties to Belmont since leaving. (Borrowed from Facebook)

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Shane, Rose and I at Christmas. I wish I could put every photo on here, but what is important here is how happy just spending time with my family has made me.

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The family reunion. The closest thing I can do to include everyone in my family that is important to me. It should be noted that I consider the crazy Gilroys in this photo family too. (Borrowed from Facebook)

The last dinner with Dennis Tedlock. Guests included Rosa Alcala, Jonathan Skinner, Jonathan Stalling, Yunte Huang, Edgar Garcia and more.

Mme Dupont and I. She was my host mother in France when I went the first time. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Floating on down the water with my more of my France peeps from the first trip!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with two of my best friends – Kevin and Dave S. (Borrowed from Facebook)

A family gathering with lots of people that matter. (Borrowed from Facebook)

Arthur Rimbaud. One of the most influential poets to my career.

Josh, who guided my trip through Avignon and joined me on an expedition to Nimes, where we visited the Arena of Nimes.

Me and my grandparents. Two of the people who matter most. They have provided a home, guidance and a great deal of love.(Borrowed from Facebook)

Right to left: Uncle Eric, Peter, Arnie and myself. I have always looked up to the other three fellows in this picture. Arnie and Uncle provided me with a lot of guidance and help when I worked construction to pay my way through school. (Borrowed from Facebook)