When Aaron thinks of Seattle, he remembers his ever first cup of coffee at the Pike’s Place Starbucks. And he thinks about Wingnut. Wingnut is actually Jake, who is a long-time friend from camp, who is married to Fraggle, but that’s too many camp names already.
Jake is a computational astrophysicist who specializes in soft lensing. Yeah…he’s legit. Prior to learning everything there is to know about space and time, Jake was an integral part of many epic Aaron adventures. There was seatbelt scavaging, saving the world with duct tape, and who could forget peddling for money in downtown Santa Cruz with a garage sale accordion and gorilla suit. We’re talking some seriously good adventures. There was even a recent attempt to calculate the distance to the moon by triangulating it from Chico and Seattle using a sextant.
Unfortunately, space and time has a stronger impact on friendships than it does on galaxies, but it was so fun to be together again. Our highlight was a tour of the universe in Jake's Planetarium (technically it belongs to University of Washington, but Jake runs it). Jake is so good explaining the complicated dynamics of our universe, and his passion for learning is contagious.
There are some people that you feel fortunate to know, because knowing them gives you a glimpse into their passion. It could be an instrument, art, reading, cooking, a certain language, or in Jake's case, the dynamics of the universe. There's something about witnessing a person doing something they love. Before we left, we were lucky enough to be invited to a friend's senior violin recital. In the 60 or so minutes that it took to hear all four pieces, we witnessed the product of a lifetime of her work. This is not her account, but you can imagine she's had moments of intense aggravation, moments when she had to push on to keep trying, days of disinterest, as well as the rush of accomplishment, excitement for the next piece, peers that became allies, and a deep understanding that develops. Her love of music has grown deep, and the music she makes is not just a product for an audience's approval, but it's a fascination that excites something deep within her.
Jake is a person who is driven by fascination, and its made him fascinating to talk to. After our tour of the Universe and the Deep Space Field, we grabbed some spicy Thai food and had more prosaic conversation about careers and road trips and life. It wasn't enough time to catch up completely, but it was enough to really miss those epic adventures, deep conversations about God and love, and late nights at Redwood Camp perfect for just staring up at the stars. Well, at least Aaron was just staring.
No comments:
Post a Comment