Side Eye—

There are so many ways that I could begin this recollection. I could begin with a picture that I had in my Day Runner (But I would first have to explain what a Day Runner was); I could start with the misunderstood lyrics of an Eagles song; or, a I could speculate what it was like to grow up in the shadow of Syd. Sadly the actual picture no longer exists because Day Runners were replaced by hand sized computers. Once upon a time though, we all carried around a book the weight of an entire encyclopedia set. This dense little brick contained actual calendars that you wrote on... In pen. They also had all of your contacts; outlines of projects you were working on; and pockets. There were loads of pockets. Most people would actually have pictures, of their spouses and children, to share with their friends when they were traveling.

I had such a picture. It was in fact Syd as a toddler... in a bear costume. Todd was also in the picture and he was innocently wearing a horse costume. Syd is basically growling at him with her eyes but he is cluelessly smiling at the camera. It turns out, Syd loved horses and was really disappointed that Todd was a horse. Syd, even as an adult, did not posses a poker face. In this cute and cuddly bear costume, however, you can feel her anger. It always made me laugh. Unfortunately the actual photo no longer exists. I did, however, inherit a box of pics from that same vintage. You can almost see the wicked side eye. When I was traveling, people would always ask if I had any pictures of my wife and I would always show that one. The cuteness overload combined with the attitude was unbearable.

How does the Side Eye tie into misinterpreted lyrics? I have no actual knowledge of Syd and Todd as children. I have just heard the stories. There is one (referenced earlier), where Syd was caught shoving Todd into a dryer. Syd was pretty self aware in the re-telling of these stories. In this case she had been absolutely convinced that the lyrics to the Eagle's song went as follows:

​"Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona

​Such a fine sight to see.

​It's a girl my lord in a black Chevy-Ford,

​Slowing down to take a look at me."

Todd tried to reason with her. He patiently explained that Chevy and Ford were two distinct competitive companies--Reason had no place in the discussion. She would sing it loud and proud. Finally, she came to the understanding that she might not be correct. Whenever the song came on, however, she would explain to me that her lyrics were better.