This is E.F. and myself sitting in downtown Amherst in November of 1997. I had traveled back to Amherst for Thanksgiving, or perhaps a fall visit. The two of us had been roommates the previous summer. Excellent mid-90s details include the red point-and-shoot camera held by EF, her short hair the fact that she’s smoking. I am not smoking in this photo, but I’m guessing I have either just finished a cigarette or am about to have one. I’m wearing my dad’s army pants, left over from the national guard, a spanking new pair of Doc Martens, my green sweater, which once upon a time belonged to Sara’s Great Aunt Hazel. I’m also wearing the coat that kept me warm through many a freezing cold New England Winter. On my hand is a ring that I gave myself, so as to be engaged to me and not any guys. The backpack carries my things for the weekend. I will take the Peter Pan bus back to Boston to work my first post-college job as a receptionist. It is a job that is boring and lonely and I travel an hour each way to get to there. I am lonely, and this weekend has been a very good one.