11. John, Eureka, Nevada

Not the best photo, but it illustrates a significant event. I was working in Eureka, Nevada for many months by myself. At that time there were three restaurants in Eureka. Having sampled the dinner offerings from each menu several times I was done eating out. So, I bought an electric frying pan and a vegetable steamer and began cooking in my motel room. There was a grocery/liquor store across the street with a butcher. Each evening I'd buy some veg, a lump of meat and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label. Three months into that routine, I was ordering a piece of Delmonico steak. "Make that two," I said to the butcher. As the words left my mouth there was a tap on my shoulder and a familiar voice, "Is the other steak for me Roddy?" It was my dear friend John Cuthill. He was driving from Reno to Denver and decided to swing by for a visit. I burst into tears. I was so lonely. We ate the steaks, drank the whisky and talked until the sun came up. Big life changes were in the cards for me, but I wasn't sure where to start. I was stuck. This photograph reminds me that John contributed to positive change in my life. I don't remember what he told me that night, but I remember how he made me feel, because I still feel it. Eureka, Nevada, 1984.