Brian and Olga Davies were great friends of ours when they lived in Eugene.  Brian taught in the Interiors program with Linda, and Olga used some of her many talents working at King Design.  Brian brought talent, insight and dedication to his work, but he always was able to keep it in perspective, and his wry comments assured me that I wasn’t the only one who found academia a bit absurd at times.  Olga may have been the liveliest and most stylish person to ever live in Eugene, and there were many parties and gatherings which wouldn’t have been much fun without her.

The great friendship extended to the next generation too.  Diego was born soon after Greta, and they were buddies until the Davies left town.

So it was especially cool for Diego and Greta to get together again.  They had no real memories of each other, but at a certain level, people who are little kids together always seem to understand each other immediately.  

Brian and Olga moved to Cincinnati ten years ago, where Brian teaches at UC.  They live in a house that is the opposite of their Eugene house in every way – instead of being a small, modern house in a big yard, their new place is a big, old urban house on a small lot.

Soon after arriving in Cincinnati, their son Marco was born – he isn’t pictured here because he was at sleepover when I finally pulled the camera out.  He is true wild man, bursting with energy and enthusiasm, and made me realize what a change it is when adolescence hits.

Greta and I had a wonderful time staying with the Davies – lots of food and drink and wandering around the neighborhood, but mainly non-stop conversation for a few days.  Brian and I sat up into the wee hours every night, comparing our ideas on the current state of life in academia and sharing our insights about cocktails and whiskies.  Visiting them made me realize how much we miss having them in Eugene. but at the same time it is wonderful to rediscover that with real friends you can just pick up again where you left off.