i was at a game night recently. the hostess had assembled a diverse mix of her friends from different parts of her world. this means that many of the people in attendance didn't know one another. to this they played a game called two truths and a lie. if you're not familiar with this you just say three things about yourself, two that are real and one that is a lie and the people are supposed to guess which it the lie.

for one of mine i said i was the fourth child born to my mother but the first she put up for adoption which meant my life unexpectedly began in an orphanage.

as people started ruminating on which of mine was true and which was the lie, one of the guests said to the others, "i have to say he has very nice teeth for someone who lived in an orphanage."

i chuckled a bit and told him that i didn't always live in an orphanage and in my adult life do have access to dental care.

i added that i have never had braces so in that regard his point is fair that i do have pretty nice teeth for someone who never had braces (and once lived in an orphanage).

and i promise you i have that comment at the ready in case i ever meet someone who tells me they lived in an orphanage AND have reasonably nice teeth.

regarding the picture:

• it is a press photo taken for my new company.
• i devastated my lip open two days before this pic was to be taken. i'm not going to tell you how mostly because i do not want to re-live the moment.
• this is the same photog who shot me more than 20 years ago. that was also because of a press-related photo (bank promotion). fact is i think these two photos mark the only times anyone ever talked about me anywhere.
• this photographer has a wicked-cool series he's done on birds of prey (Raptor Series). when you walk into his studio five foot high shots of these birds line the main hallway. it is a thing to see.