Becoming affiliated with Mather House was one of the smartest things I did when I moved to Flagg Street. It was just being built and I thought, I live right next door to that place, it would be fun to get involved. So I got in touch with Skiddy van Stade, the Master, who checked me out and made me an unaffiliated tutor. That means I give a noncredit photography seminar, run the darkroom with a student, and eat dinner there almost every night when I'm not dieting.

I've made good friends there -- John Limon, Brian Williams, Charlie Olchowski, Harry Rand -- and like the way the energy flows. There are times when being available to students exhausts me, but like Creeley says to me, you can't blame them for trying to get every ounce, that's their job. Sometimes, too, knowing people who are in their early twenties, on the edge of their lives, makes me cranky because I can't think of anything wise or reassuring to say -- except hang in there; cast lots of nets.

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