Family

There is a collective as well as an individual humor inclining peoples to sadness or cheerfulness, making them see things in bright or somber lights. In fact, only society can pass a collective opinion on the value of human life; for this the individual is incompetent.

~ Emile Durkheim

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Kirk and Jared are putting together a family photo wall. This is one of the photos that Kirk says Zak likes. This is me and Erik with our Grandma and Grandpa Boettcher. I look awesome in this photo. Everyone else looks so somber. Not me. I was not somber. Not then.

My somberness set in when I got older. I'm super-somber now. Somber comes from the Latin for "under" and "shade." Mostly I'm somber because the ozone layer is depleted. See how that means multiple things there?

(pause) 

From the looks on their faces, I'm not sure my grandparents liked Erik very much.