Bruce
December 2, 2005One of the great influences in my life has been my mother’s brother Bruce. He is a tremendously talented painter who has devoted his life to his art. His very existence has been an inspiration as there was somebody in the family who was completely outside any traditional structure or system. When I was growing up, I would hear stories of Bruce painting in Mexico or living in Florence. More importantly, he scraped through the bad times, suffering the whims of artistic poverty yet managing to get by and keep his art moving. My path away from the newspaper and regular life was that much easier for my family to accept because Bruce had already cleared the way.
Now, as I roam the country, rootless and homeless, Bruce proves to be an inspiration again. I have been passing time with many friends who stayed in the system and now have homes and partners and retirement savings. In melancholy moments, this makes my poverty feel more acute and my future seem more terrifying. But, look at Bruce. He managed to make it through to his 50s living the life, and it is only now that has he bought his first property, an apartment in East Vancouver. It shows that you can sacrifice for you dream and still look forward to an old age that doesn’t involve cardboard boxes, an alley, and pee-stained trousers.
