Facebook Friends: Ernst - Georgia

Ernst Ben Ratsputten

Ben is my friend's Rat. Ben is a girl. She loves cheese, toilet paper rolls and watching the Secret of Nimh. Since I have about 300 more of these to do, I'll just let Michael Jackson do the rest of the talking for me.

Feliciano Mora

The Artisian Rogue. Mario is wonderful. His quiet, introspective and gentle spirit always had a beneficial calming effect amongst a class full of show-offs, loud-mouths, and naked people. He is a passionate and dedicated person. If he loves something, that passion and dedication gets applied to it, and believe me, it's a long list.

He loves comics. Making them and reading them. I wish I had a thimble full of the artistic passion that Mario has. Just a thimble!! Be sure spend a few hours on his site. He'll passionately love you for it!

George Anagnos

So, I don't date. It's the worst thing in the world to me. Okay–I'm exaggerating, there's plenty of things in the world FAR worse, but I REALLY dislike it. Anyone who can appreciate my crippling fear of awkward silences will understand, and what is a first date if not one long awkward silence with a high-five and a sigh of relief at the end. Can't we just skip to the good stuff?

About once a year, I give in and go on a date. A few years back, George was one of the lucky few, and I have to say, we had a GREAT time! All thanks to George. He took charge. He had a plan. He ran that show. He didn't leave me to do all the talking. No room for awkward silence. Not a single "Well, I don't know, what do you want to do?" All that he required of me was my company which is exactly how I think a first date should be. And while there weren't any romantic sparks between the two of us, it's men like George that keep me going on this quest for love and remind me that not every first date will be like Chinese water torture.

Aside from his dating expertise, he's funny, outgoing, kind, thoughtful and has an entrepreneurial spirit with the karate (or some form of asian fighting) skills to kill an attacking rabid tiger.

Georgia Damalas Snodgrass

Georgia and I had a good thing going. I miss her. A lot. We were both pretty new Christians when we met. She's was something of a wise older sister to me. Wherever I was going in my life, she'd already been there and she'd tell me all about it. It's important to have people in your life who already know what you're about to learn.

Not only that, but she's funny, determined, and warm as a freshly toasted Pop Tart with the most beautiful perfectly and ever-so-slightly crooked smile I've ever seen. I really admire her.

Oh, and Georgia, if you're reading this, here is that song for your baby girl I was telling you about that you probably never looked up because you didn't know how awesome it is. You're welcome!

Greg Franklin

Artist. Musician. Designer. Writer. Critic. DJ. Dancer. Hat Wearer. Beard Grower. Cat lover. All around terrific human being. Greg Franklin is the best friend I never had.

He's in Seattle, I'm in St. Louis and we met in Kansas City. Once. Years ago. We took an instant liking to one another and became fast facebook friends. We have a lot in common, but I get the sense that he's sort of the male version of myself. You know, outgoing, creative, warm, and a lover of the people. And like me, he is world famous-ish for his sweet dance moves–the difference being that he actually has rhythm. The laughter and cheering from the surrounding circle is WITH him as opposed to AT him.

Greg has both a powerful and gentle presence. He's light and deep. He's vivacious and dark. He's well put together in that accidental sort of way. I always feel like I'm a walking set of contradictions and I get that vibe from Greg, too. But then again, I barely know him. I guess I can smell my own kind. I'm happy to see that Greg has met his match and is on his way to the alter with a beautiful girl that looks like a rainbow.

If you have a few hours, you should spend some time looking into all the pots that Greg has his hand in here.

Time to update, Greg.

Facebook Friends: Emily - Erin

Emily Reutebuch

I got to know Emily when she was an intern over here at the Science Center. I'm sort of anti-intern. That's horrible of me, I realize. I mean, I get what a great learning experience it is for them, but the payback is usually nil. In fact, you end up losing a lot of time training them and then just having to redo their stuff anyways. Emily was a rare find. She knew what she was doing. No hand-holding required. She had a good eye for design and she got stuff done. Another thing that separated her from the pack was her ability to come in and be a part of the group. She wasn't intimidated by us. We're a pretty hilarious bunch and interns usually cower in the corner hoping to avoid our witty insults and hard-time giving. Not Emily. She stepped right in and joined in the fun. Maybe it's her theater background. Maybe she was just ACTING like she wasn't afraid of us. If she did, we totally bought it. We really wanted to keep her, but alas, she moved on to bigger and better things in NYC.

Eric Little

I went to high school with Eric and he always had that "little boy" appearance. He's growing into his man face quite nicely these days. I'd say he looks at least 21. Not bad for a 30 year old.

Eric Minor

Minor is one of the people I love most in the world. I've always referred to him as my Wise Old Man. He's been listening to my problems, guiding me through them and putting me in my place for 16 years now. We haven't lived in the same zip code for more than a few months in the last 12 of those years, but if I had a dollar for every 2 hour phone session we've had, I'd have, like...50 bucks! That's a lot of talking! Minor and I are NOTHING alike. He's solid, I'm mushy. He's tidy, I'm a slob. He's practical, I won't touch anything practical with a ten foot pole. And yet, somehow, we totally get each other. Maybe it's our differences that make us admire each other so much. I always know I can say anything to him and I always respect his opinion and want to know what he thinks. I trust him. (Except when it comes to making plans)

He's the kind of guy you can just feel safe with. If bombs were falling from the sky, I would want to be where he is because I know he'll know what to do. And even if he doesn't, he'll take charge and pretend he does, so... same thing.

Minor and I have always had this weird "will they, won't they" sort of relationship. We never have and chances are at this point, we probably won't. There's been a significant drifting over the last few years, and we really don't need each other as much as we did when we were younger but, I know we both have left an impression on each other that doesn't go anywhere.

Erica Hennessy

Sweet and genuine Erica Hennessy is a pal of mine from high school. She was everyone's pal. She's impossible not to like. I think I may have had every single class with her all four years, and we had many of the same friends, so we spent a LOT of time together. Being so naturally supportive and encouraging, she was always willing to laugh at my jokes that weren't funny at all. AT ALL. So, thank you Erica for helping me to develop such a highly inflated ego! It was no small task!

Erin Murphy

Because my beautiful, talented, and good friend Erin is such a wordsmith, I feel a lot of pressure to write something really clever here. Now, whenever I'm really TRYING it always ends up to just be a bunch of word vomit. So, I'll try something different with this one. Maybe if I just start out with word vomit, it will turn into something clever.

Let's see here:

Erin. Short. Feisty. Revolt. Quick. Powerful. Hard shell. Soft center. Words. More Words. Loud. Ponytail. Astute. Creative. Bitch Face. Hilarious. Traveler. Seeker. Finder. Friendly. Finger Gestures. Laughing. Beer. More beer. Wine. More Wine. Books. Brilliant. Unique. Word Daggers. Word Hugs. Cultured. Adventure. Injustice Hater. Fighter. Encourager. Unstoppable. Vigilante. Yellow.

Meh. That didn't really work, but basically, Erin is cooler and funnier and sharper than anyone you know.

Facebook Friends: Elias - Emily

Elias Cantu

Elias is good people. Movie star handsome with a heart of gold. My roommate and his roommate dated and, therefore we were thrown together a lot. Elias was the person that made me feel safe and respected in a crowd that seemed very shallow, dismissive and usually wasted. I'm pretty sure our friendship was 98% platonic and I honestly can't remember if the other 2% was us actually dating, or me just thinking we should so much that I started believing we did. It was a weird time for me, but I'm glad he was in it.

Elizabeth Kell Miklas

Tiny and terrific. Definitely one of the easier people to be around in High School. I have a really good recollection of Liz's laugh and I can't picture her with out seeing Michelle Czj.......kowski right next to her.

Elli Flynn

Elli Jo, the Funniest Girl I Know, is theatrical and full of character. When she tells a story, every part of her body tells it with her. Her hands, her eyes, her hips, heck, I'm pretty sure even her toenails were in on it. She doesn't walk; she prances.

I owe so much to Elli Jo. I really don't know if I would be an artist today had I not met her. I also doubt I would have the sense of humor that I do. Elli and I spent 2-3 years in high school passing notes back and forth every single day. Not just any notes. These were legendary. Funny scenes and illustrated comics involving people we knew and people we made up, which, looking at them now, are disgusting, sort of mean and not nearly as hilarious as they were at the time, but nothing from our youth ever is. I didn't realize it then, but it was this partnership that was the cornerstone on which the rest of my creative life has been built on. It stretched me. Up until that point, I knew I could draw rose tattoos on people at lunch, but that was about the extent of my artistic self-awareness. So, if I ever end up a famous dead artist and they do a documentary on my life, my stupid comics with Elli Jo will be my point of revelation. The point where I realized what I loved to do.

Emily Bogolin

This is Emily. She happens to be my beautiful, wonderful niece's beautiful, wonderful best friend, but I love her all on her own. I don't know what the future holds for this 13 year old, but I'm sure she'll do great things. She's got all the things that greatness requires: ambition, drive, leadership, self-awareness, confidence and a hefty dose of P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude). None of these things come to me naturally. I have to work at them, but Emily has them in spades. I can't wait to see where her life takes her–or–should I say, where she takes her life. She's not going anywhere unless she wants to. (Acts of God not included.)

Emily Boyd

I met Emily my freshmen year in college. I can picture her now. Teenie, tiny, crazy-haired, punk rocker Emily strolling through the halls of the art department with her precocious 4-year-old daughter skipping along beside her. I was pretty intimidated by her at first. She seemed dark and edgy and smart enough to give me a good verbal lashing if I said something super uncool. You see, I was afflicted with suburban white girl syndrome. The palette of people I had been exposed to up until that point was somewhat limited. I didn't know what Emily was, but I didn't think she was the sort to sit at home on Thursday nights watching Friends with a bag of Funyuns in her lap. I had to figure her out. And, I sort of did. It turns out, Emily wasn't nearly as intimidating as I thought. She's actually very warm, kind, outgoing, encouraging and awesome. Not to mention just crazy enough to be entertaining. I was right about her being smart enough to shred people with words, but I think she's pretty responsible with not misusing her gift.

Facebook Friends: Donna - Elaine

Donna Pullen Johnson
Donna is my OTHER beautiful, kind-hearted, Harley-Davidson-loving, cousin from my homeland of Gainesville, Florida who I haven't seen in 15 years. Seriously. Someone put this reunion together. Don't put me in charge. It'll never get done.

Douglas Lakey

Long before Doug was happily married, he and I dated. We bonded over our love of being hilarious and disgusting. Doug is a very clever and witty guy. Beloved by pretty much everyone. He's also a super suburban athlete. That's right. He's a professional bowler. He's better than everyone and he's got a giant thumb to prove it. He even hosts a radio show dedicated to the sport. You can check it out here. He also enjoys guitar playing, bar-b-queing, hanging out with The Friends and mens fashion.

Drew Krueger

I don't know Drew, but I do know Andy! Andy and my brother were best friends before my family moved to Atlanta. He's a good kid with a great family and wicked bar-tending skills.

Dustin Swartz
My sweet wonderful Dustin!!!!! How I love him so even if we haven't seen each other since college. (my fault) Dustin was my makeshift husband for our big group trip to Europe right after college. I don't know how I would have made it with out him. So much fun, so much fighting, and so much drama. Dustin was my rock and we were glued to one another for the entire trip. I even made him sleep in my room with me to avoid being alone with my assigned roommate Doris who spent half the trip crying and the other half on the phone with her boyfriend. We spent half our time walking the streets of Paris and London and the other half watching dirty Parisian television.

I could do lots of portraits of Dustin and if he lived here I would make him pose for me every time I had an artistic block. He's a block breaker. This crummy post-it just won't do him justice. He has such uniquely beautiful features. Sleepy eyes, a mouth sent straight from heaven and the greatest ears on God's green earth.

Dustin, I miss you!!!!! Let's go to Europe! (You'll have to pay, of course)

Elaine Crossman
Elaine was a prominent piece of my girl gang in high school. Many nights were spent at her house watching Dirty Dancing and Grease while we waited for her grandparents to fall asleep so we could do things we shouldn't. We shared a locker, which probably wasn't a good idea seeing as we were both giant slobs. (I still haven't outgrown that) She always sort of stayed on the out skirts in HS, and then blossomed senior year and won the coveted role of Prom Queen. Now she spends her time being gushingly in love with and married to, sweet Joey Crossman, raising her beautiful little children, and unleashing her inner party animal when she can get a babysitter.

Bellybutton, Elaine. Bellybutton.