The Talent of a Fellow Northern Youth

David Meek

Why I do what I do?  Truth be told, I have been asked this question enough times in recent weeks that I am at a crossroads of feeling like a victim.  When I write as a "ghost" there is of course money involved.  But otherwise I write for myself.  Well, maybe that's not completely true either.  I write - and like anyone else who puts words down, I hope that someone out there would be even a little bit interested in what I have to say.  But the reality is that people like me need people like my friend David Meek to not only give us something to write about, but to inspire us to try and write something worth reading.  His paintings have always reminded me of what real talent is.

Sure, I can write about beauty - but David can create it.  So I wanted to take a pause this evening to tell you about another Northern Youth - one with real talent, with an understanding of real beauty.  Time marches forward without pause, but in this painting David has captured it.  I once heard him talk about a kiss from a special girl - we were still in high school - and he described it as something you wanted to take home and wrap up and save for a special moment.  I often thought about it like a week full of birthdays.  But leave it to him to summarize it not just in words but in images!  You'd be tempted to hate that kind of talent if you didn't truly like the person who possessed it.  I am at once envious, jealous yet ultimately proud of my friend David.  We all need motivation.

I am a Northern Youth, much like my friend David, and my friend Mike.  And while many will look at a picture like this and see a barn, we see so much more.  We see the past, we see constancy, we see mysteries demystified - we see ourselves in some small way, although in many ways we have long
since moved on, we are still Northern Youths.  And I for one and grateful that this one small fact about myself will never change.

Thank you David