as many of you know, for my birthday this year we hosted an all-participatory talent show. the performances were incredible – music, dance, theater, talking backwards, the autoharp. i shared my talent of finding humor in pain and read a poem i wrote about tearing my ACL. it’s here if you missed it or haven’t had a chance to view it (i’m looking at you, MOM! what, is late august a busy time for ministers or something?)
more importantly, one of the participants didn’t have a chance to share his talent, because he was busy demonstrating one of his many other spectacular skills. this one involved marinades, tongs and high heat. yes, that’s right, i’m talking about my friend ameet, grillmaster extraordinaire.
ameet and i lived next door to each other our freshman year at vassar (recently voted one of america’s *least* religious colleges – go brewers!) and though a continent or two has occasionally come between us, we’ve maintained a closeness that has only grown over the years. since i arrived in new york five years ago, ameet and i have never lived more than six blocks apart. we’ve biked through exploded water mains, we’ve partied late into the night in silly costumes, we’ve watched the mets lose. it’s been good times.
but of course, it has not been all good times. and i don’t mean watching the mets lose – we take that for granted at this point. obviously i’ve had to endure a trial or two over the past few years. and i don’t mean just the clinical trials. through it all, ameet has been there. and usually he’s there to cook a marvelous meal. i’d say it’s almost weekly that he’ll arrive, groceries in hand, to provide us with comestibles and conversation. and there are usually leftovers. since kathryn tends to work later into the evening and has a long commute, ameet’s cooking has been a godsend, and deserves public recognition. in fact, it looks like he’ll be coming over tonight. his gifts and talents have brought such joy and have provided a respite from my all-too-common days of pain, fatigue and frustration. after my most recent surgery, ameet came over and made so much food that i didn’t have to shop or cook for a week. now that’s love. it is such a gift to have a friend so dedicated, so close and available, so supportive and so nourishing in so many ways.
ameet is also an award-winning photographer, and has been on hand to capture some of the most important times of our lives together. because he was so busy working the grill at the talent show, he didn’t have a chance to put on a slideshow he’d prepared that featured some of his best pictures from around the world. they are, of course, fantastic, like many of the shots of his that are linked throughout the post.
i hope you’ll take a moment to check out his spectacular photographs – you can view the slideshow here.
this shot isn’t included in the show. as much as i love all of the wonderful groinstrong pictures y’all have sent me, i think this is my all time favorite.
and of course, it’s from ameet.
Tags: ameet is awesome
does ameet work for national geographic? b/c i think he should.
seriously amazing photos, and what a great tribute to your friend. family might be our rock – but don’t friends just make the world go round….xoxo
Laura, I’ve told Ameet the same thing! Maybe he’ll do it when he “retires” from his day job… Not a bad way to fund your adventures!
I love best friends. They are the best for a reason.
Your mother has seen your poem from the talent show. You may not remember, but you made me watch it when we visited in August. I even laughed. So there!