It’s Almost All There: Finding Lenny’s Blue Binder
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Ah! So today, the Wolverine arrived. The USPS lovingly placed the box containing the item on top of our blue recycling bin at the side of the house. Luckily, most of the bin was underneath a small awning by the side door so the package was not soaked by the rain that had been falling, on and off, since early morning. The box itself wasn’t that big and the interior box containing the Wolverine Titan did not match the object’s valiant sounding name. I didn’t have time to open it and it felt very cold, from having been outside for a bit so I brought it to the attic to warm up. I just hoped it had not been damaged. Part of me felt I should open it up right away but it was New Year’s Eve and I felt a bit intimidated. I wanted to have time and quiet to figure it out.
My mom had texted me earlier to let me know that she had found some more of Lenny’s tugboat photos but when I visited for 4pm tea time, she revealed that she had in fact found a big binder that contained not only photos but typewritten pages that I soon realized were chapters of his book to correspond with select images. He had a title page and a dedication page. The book was to be dedicated to his father, Percy Harris. And below that, he included a “Special Thanks to Ken Hansen.” A name to research and a person to track down. But I worried that he might not still be alive. I also noted a page that stated: “Photos by Len Harris. Text by Jan Stacy.” Another person to look into. A very important person, as he created the writing that should go along with Lenny’s photos. Apparently, this was a bit of a collaborative effort, or perhaps Lenny asked this person to help him to tell the story of the photos of the Tugs. Either way, I would need to get Jan Stacy’s permission to print/publish his words. I didn’t feel at all certain how to go about all of this. Lots to figure out.
In addition to the binder, my parents and I started looking at other b&w photos, mostly portraits. We found Lenny’s Army discharge papers and before I left for home, dad gave me a Tower Records (any New Yorkers out there remember that spot?) bag, full of comic books that Lenny had collected, mostly a series called “Master of Kung Fu”.
Later that evening, I looked through some of comics and was drawn to a couple of the covers. The one cover had an image broken up into puzzle pieces (I love zigsaw puzzles) and the other cover had an old record player cabinet on it, not unlike the one I recently put together in the attic. By the time I was done carefully perusing all of the covers, I had ink all over my fingers and I felt exhausted.
One of the highlights of the day was the fact that I got a response to my “likes” of the two images on Instagram. I responded with a brief audio message and also replied with my email address. I was not 100% confident that it got sent and I hope I am not being too pushy by mentioning the project and the wish to reconnect. Decades have passed. Three, actually, since I last saw him…at Lenny’s funeral. Tomorrow, on the 1st day of 2021 and the plan is for me to come up with a plan.
