Continuum

Somewhere around 1970 two people moved to Portland from Taos.

I had been living in Portland for a couple of years after my four-year military stint had come to an end.

I had grown up in Portland.

So had one of the two people from Taos.

He was my best friend from grade-school through college.

The other person from Taos was an unknown quantity.

She was my friend's wife.

I didn't know that he was married.

I didn't know he was living in Taos.

In fact, I hadn't seen him since he stopped in Denver where I was stationed with the Air Force on his way back to Portland from wherever it was that he had fulfilled his active-duty military stint.

Vietnam had whipped all of America's young men into a patriotic frenzy back in those days.

Joe and I were lackluster participants on the fringe of the frenzy.

So, I was jogged into WTF-Land when Joe and a wife suddenly appeared in Portland from Taos.

They were in Taos because June is an artist, dominantly manifested by her painting.

But I suspect that she writes.

And who knows whatever else?

They were in Taos because June thought her prospects for being a painter were better in Taos than in Binghampton.

Joe was good at making frames for the paintings and talking to prospective patrons.

So they moved to Taos.

I have never known why they moved to Portland.

Or why Joe was in Binghampton.

Or, if I did, I have forgotten.

I have some paintings of June's from her late Taos/Early Portland Period.

Here is one.

I've always thought this to be a predictive self portrait of Joe and June.

They sent me a "Happy Fourth of July" JPEG just moments ago.

I really like it.