In August 2004* I wrote in this blog post (among other thoughts that I felt were deep at age 22) “Lick everything.”

I’ve always wanted at least a teaspoon full of just about everyone I meet. It’s part of the reason why I’ve created a career of inserting myself into people’s lives and families. My job thrills me so much because hanging out with people I don’t know during intimate moments – getting married in a group of five friends, sitting in their living room posing for family photos, or literally taking their clothes off – is thrilling. Getting close to other people and peeling back their public facades is so fascinating.

When I found out about David Greg Harth’s project, I figured, correctly as it turns out, that he is one of my people. His project is called Every Person I Know And Every Person I Don’t Know; he invites friends and strangers to climb into a photo booth with him and takes a strip of shots. He’s amassed hundreds of photo strips throughout the years, and plans to do it “until forever”.

We met for beers Monday night at a bar in the East Village that had a photo booth. I told him about how I have always wanted to “lick everyone”, and how his project embodies that sentiment so completely.

Then we got in the photo booth together… and I licked him.

*Holy shit I’ve been blogging for a long time.