Uncle Tim

Our friend Tim lives in Switzerland. Every time he makes the trek to the U.S. to visit with his family in the midwest, he plans a stopover for a week or so in Boston to visit my family and his friends who still live there.


Tim was my brother's best friend; he and Jason met in 1979 when we moved to Switzerland. Digital Equipment Company moved us over there, and Tim's family was there courtesy of Caterpillar Equipment. I don't think Jason and Tim ever went a year without seeing each other, even when living on different continents. They were roommates in Boston when they were old enough to live on their own. Tim was with Jason when he died in 1993. Tim is a beloved member of our family.


Homestead Mama and I went back to Boston in early November to spend time with Tim on his latest visit. It is always a treat - he's a smart funny renaissance man, fluent in at least 2 languages, unassuming, wry, and handsome. He spent a year biking from Geneva to China and back. He works in finance now because that is what you do when you live in Geneva, but he can sew a pair of jeans, brew a good beer, make a snowboard from scratch and crack up a room with one quiet comment.


He is wonderful with kids, getting down on their level, accompanying them on their play tangents, and taking them very seriously which they can sense and they clearly love. Some day we'll travel to see him and do with my kids some of the things I loved doing in Geneva. We'll buy glaces along the sidewalks of Lac Leman and walk in the spray of the Jet D'Eau.

We'll drive up to the top of the Saleve and watch the hang gliders jump off the cliff. We'll drive 2 hours out of the city and be in the alps. I'd move back to Switzerland in a heartbeat if offered the chance. Next best thing? Having Tim settled there and waiting for us to visit.