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connecticut is a hard style.
even at the very best of times.
which we had, in abundance,
the last few days.
there was another other 'nother highlight to our trip however.
my uncle's career is being celebrated in new haven
at the john slade ely house.
the whole first floor, ninjas.
right now,
until the 14th of november.
if you're even remotely nearby.
make the trip.
do it.
edward j. castiglione.
it's an incredible representation of decades of hard work.
a tribute to an elusive, reclusive scholar and creator.
he was a hard man to know,
almost impossible to know well,
and an even harder one to like.
i understand that.
hell, i live that.
but he did some things, y'all.
and what's more,
he made hundreds and hundreds of paintings,
and never showed but a tiny selection to
and even tinier group of close confidants.
i've seen 'em,
there and then, and now again at the gallery.
the best part?
they're all unsigned, undated, uncataloged,
under the radar.
he just did what he did.
it wasn't ever about anyone else.
the great tragedy is that it wasn't just his art,
but his whole way of life.
moths do mothlike things.
just because that's what they DO.
some people can't hang out with that.
we condemn in others what we dislike most in ourselves.
but it's bad form to speak ill of the dead.
i count myself fortunate to have been a part
of the good,
and the bad,
and the ugly-
as a nephew,
a roommate,
as a peer,
and as a friend.
***********
it's there for the viewing,
and you're probably not THAT busy.
a little insight into some of my early influences,
right in the city.
get cultured, ninjas;
never quiet, never soft.....