Play

Tim had a lovely and playful way of being in the world. As siblings we poked and prodded at each other a great deal. He was always ready for the kind of rough and tumble play that brings out the inner child in all of us. His sense of physical play didn’t leave him in adulthood. He once made my colleagues laugh by using his rain-soaked windbreaker to “flap his wings like a bat“ while walking in the Metro tunnels of Washington DC. The last time I saw him perform music, Tim was dressed as a large piece of bacon for Halloween. Although back in the day we had far less access to cameras than today’s young adults , someone managed to catch this impromptu tumbling act in the Hartnett living room. I’m not sure Marita and I are the most stable base for the human pyramid, but I’m sure others were in the room egging us on. He also loved the playfulness of animals, like when he watched his dogs Maggie May and Saka wrestle around on his living room rug. Regardless of the time of day, Tim called this spectacle “Friday night at the fights.”

Let’s all be as playful as Tim! Thank you, my Puckish brother.

Cass Hartnett