December 13 -- Night with Norman

After dinner, I drove to the NW quadrant of the District to stay the night with my high school friend, Norman. We first met in September 1980, when our parents dropped us off at boarding school in Western Massachusetts. Needless to say, after a year with 20 other boys in cubicles (no ceilings, doors or electricity) in Bob Gula’s eighth grade dormitory, we knew each other very well.

Since leaving school, Norman has worked as a nightclub manager, played in a band called Tone (link at right) and, most recently, become a real estate developer. He lives with his fiancé, Kate, in a cool town house.

After I arrived, Norman showed me one of his development projects, a particularly charming two-apartment home a couple of doors down the street from his own. The building, a red brick town house, blended into the historical neighborhood but also had modern, stylish windows and other touches that made it particularly attractive.

We stayed up chatting until late -- testament to the amount of conversation 27+ years of friendship and a couple of curious minds can generate!