or maybe it's just one of those moments where you realize that people are just people.

i'm at work, listening to REM (had to put noise cancelling earphones in because of oblivious desk neighbor). so, the REM reminds me all of a sudden of my cousin, the eldest of 4 boys, and my childhood hero. he was always very sweet and very very very cool. much nicer than his 3 brothers. he was a surfer, ended up playing football for USC for awhile, that kind of thing. and i just started tearing up because he turned out to have such a painfully normal life. i wanted him to grow up to be laird hamilton.

but that's how it always turns out, doesn't it? very much the bread-and-butter-fly.