Mattress Factory Poker Night video

It was priceless to see Nathan's response when, on one of the first poker nights over a year ago, Liam showed up in white overalls and brought gourds he'd grown to barter for poker chips, instead of cash. Liam talked about how delicious his vegetables were and all the things you could cook with them, driving up their value until he was able to sell them and cash in for enough poker chips to play. In invitations to poker nights following that first one, Nathan would specify in good humor "Cash only".

Neither Liam nor I ever did manage to improve our poker prowess, as is evident from this video clip. I'm not even playing this round, just filming and photographing everyone. Listen closely and you can hear Liam's adorable confusion. It was always a lot of fun.......right, Nathan? ....Right?

I really loved spending time with Nathan and Liam together. On a related note, one of my absolute favorite recent memories of the two of them was just a simple evening we spent in Liam's bus, bouncing between a million esoteric subjects in a way that only good friends can do without spiraling into complete confusion. It felt like the three of us were tuned to and buzzing at precisely the same wavelength that night. I brought an armful of clementines when I came over, so the bus smelled like citrus while we drank whiskey and talked for hours.

I wish I were more of a writer, so I could explain what it is that I enjoyed so much about their friendship and watching them interact. The closest I can get is to note that they are both extremely knowledgeable about a lot of overlapping subjects (or, if not knowledgeable per se, opinionated and armed with knowledge of the field's vocabulary). So, even if they were just talking smack on the most esoteric bit of science, technology, politics, or literature in a big school bus at 1AM on a school night, it was comedically scholarly smack.

If you'd like to see Nathan's eulogy for Liam, you can watch it here.

c@

P.S. In the video, Liam is wearing safety goggles I impulsively bought for him one evening after hearing him talk about all the lab and construction work he'd been up to that day. Liam thought the goggles were funny (they are) and apparently decided to go for a biopunk look that evening by wearing them.