You may have notice that I will/have referenced my cousins throughout this journey. My cousins are, and have alway been ‘my seconds’. What do I mean by that? This is what I mean by that.
When I have a need to source something A) obscure B) outlandish or C) something that may have never existed before, I look to ‘my seconds’, my cousins. When I need a hand, a boost, a distraction, or a coffee, I look to ‘my seconds’, my cousins. They are my second brain, my second hands.
About them:
The both are women who live in Chicago, and have since the dawn of my conscious time. Since the 70s.
As a kid I would be invited to come and spend summers in Chicago with Cousin Jeannette. As a young’n I would spend weeks every summer in Jeannette’s loft photography studio/home, single bed set up in the ‘prop room’, which was a closet, truth be told. I thought it was the COOLEST thing ever. Daytimes would find me lurking around the studio, making coffee for clients, sorting pieces of cereal for shoots, taking trips to ‘Treasure’ down the street (walking past head shops, oddity museum and the likes, but sincerely never in any real danger to speak of), and hanging out watching the 16” diagonal TV in their bedroom. These summers were the very most influential times of my life.
On occasion I would find my way over to Cousin Gaby’s place, about a mile away, and stepping into her vintage Chicago apartment was like heaven. The kitchen was red, like everything was red. and vintage. That classic 1940s looking RED kitchen. Big porch at the back, and windows that looked onto Armitage, right next to the ‘L’. It didn’t get more Chicago than that. The Italian Ice place was downstairs, and summers were IT for me.
So, these 2, as an adult, they are my second. My go tos. My advisors, my champions, my conscience, my aspiration.
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