Bullet dodged.

One of Tyler’s sixth-grade art assignments. Each student was given a mirror and a cell-phone template and was asked to draw a selfie. As the rest of the class examined their reflections and etched away at their self portraits, Tyler froze. Self-examination, art, and putting himself out there are three areas well out of his comfort zone. Determined not to fail this assignment, here’s what he came up with.

Thankfully, his teacher had a sense of humor and displayed it at the end-of-year art gallery.

Rob

Those of you who know Doug might remember that he had a brother, Rob, who passed away in a motorcycle accident in 1987. We surprised him with this drawing to help him memorialize the one person who–although on our planet for only twenty-four years–influenced him more than anyone else could in a full lifetime.

The artistic genius behind this drawing is Elizabeth Newton, who charges a very reasonable fee for custom made portraits. Somehow she took two blurry 30-plus-year-old photographs and brought a piece of the brother-in-law I never met back to life.

If anyone out there recognizes Rob and has a memory to share, even if it seems meaningless 34 years later, it would mean so much. As the years go by, it’s the memories that carry his family through.