"Okay, whatever, just step back a bit"

This summer, Keith and I were walking around NY, going to galleries, art stores, and bars.

Walking through SoHo, we saw one of those semi-cheesy street photographers who shoot your picture with a polaroid, then do a rough-development process right there on the street.

I said that we should get a picture taken. Keith said, "what, you're going to pay $15 for a polaroid? Don't you live here? We'll look like tourists."

I said, "Whatever, let's just do it." So there we were on Prince Street, and I try to get close to Keith so we're both in frame. He slowly moves to the right. I move to the right. He says, "Dude, why are you so close to me?" I said, "What are you afraid of? We're just a happy couple out for a day on the town."

"Okay, whatever, just step back a bit."

I just pushed right up next to him, and the photographer took our picture.

This is the last picture I have of us hanging out together. Well worth the $15.

Photography

Keith was a talented photographer. He took this photo of a caterpillar in his yard one day. I always thought the lighting and composition were strange and beautiful. He loved digital photography, often just snapping something he thought he might use in a design project at some point in the future.

Keith & Avenue A | Razorfish

How can you forget his laugh? It was such a pleasure working with an easy-going guy such as Keith. When I was having a bad day, he always had a way of making me laugh.

He interviewed most of us - if not all of us - from the Creative Team. Upon my first interview with him, I remembered thinking that he was the first laid back Creative Director that interviewed me in such a long time. We had many laughs during the interview process. I knew that if he laughed at my corny and poorly delivered jokes, we would work together well.

The office will not be the same without him there to bully us around for our "offerings" - a.k.a: snacks and candy - which in the end we willingly gave to him. Last and not least, I've learned so much from him and will never forget his advice throughout the duration of my career.

Keith as Little League Champ

Peter tells me that Keith was the starting pitcher for Swampscott Little League in 1978. They almost went to the Little League World Series on his left arm. He also played first base. Apparently he was quite the baseball player (Keith's friends Rob and Jack recently told me that Keith was the best stickball player in MA!)

Here is the Summary (or you can read more here):

In perhaps the most exciting Massachusetts state tournament ever played, Keith Freedman's bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Paul Moran and gave a resilient Swampscott team its first ever state title.

Swampscott had fallen behind Taunton West by a 5-0 margin (pitcher John Ghenses' two-run homer in the first was the key blow), but the North Shore team responded with four in the third. With Taunton West still leading 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Swampscott again rallied. Jamie Murphy singled and scored on Timmy Hyde's double to tie the score. Hyde was later picked off second, but Swampscott loaded the bases before Freedman delivered his game-winning hit.

In a wild semifinal win over Medford North, Swampscott scored four, four, and three runs in the first three innings to race to an 11-0 lead. Medford North responded by sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring 12 runs in the third inning to take the lead. Swampscott (17 hits on the game) kept pounding away. The Baby Blue scored five in the fourth to take a 16-12 lead. Jamie Murphy had a key RBI double to tie the game, and third baseman Paul Moran (who went 5-for-5) doubled in two more. Medford cut the Swampscott lead to two, but could come no closer. Medford North had two runners on base and the potential winning run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning when Swampsoctt relief pitcher Kyle Mueller registered a game-ending strikeout to put his team in the finals.

Brothers

The summer before last, Keith, Peter, and I hung out in Salem, and had a lot of laughs and good times.

I took this pic of them one night out on the town. Being around the two of them, you can just tell how close they are: friends as much as brothers. Competitive, poking fun at one another, but laughing all the time.

Napoleon

There was absolutely no way to know Keith without knowing Napoleon. He worked his way into Keith's work, his animations, even his commercial projects. He was the feisty, barking counterpart to Keith's easy-going, laid back persona.

One day, after helping Keith move, he rewarded me with a delicious Italian sub. As Keith and I were sitting on the grass in front of his new apartment, our sandwiches between us, I heard this munching / grunting sound. I looked down to see Napoleon eating my sandwich. I grabbed it, but Napoleon held on fast. I pulled and pried, but he just dug in his heels and growled.

Keith, knowing that I would never win the sandwich back (and, frankly, why would I want it back at that point?), started laughing and said, "just let it go. I'll get you another one."

Sometimes it felt like no one in the world could love a dog like Napoleon. But Keith did.

Do you have a Napoleon story?

Keith and music

Keith loved music, and he had great taste in it, too. He used to love to listen to KCRW, either in his car, at home, or streaming over the Web.

I thought I had pretty good taste in music, but it never stopped Keith from joshing around with me. Recently, I purchased a ton of guilty 80s pleasure music from iTunes, stuff I used to love back in the day. Keith joked with me that, in fact, there was some NEW music out there.

Then I played Style Council, and apparently it brought back some 80s memories for him, too. I guess he loved Style Council.

Know anything about Keith's musical tastes? What he liked in high school? What he listened to at work? Post a comment below.

Keith and me, artsy

Keith and I were at MOMA in 2005, and I took our picture in front of this big projected orange.

That week, Keith and I walked around New York snapping photos and comparing how differently, or similarly, we saw things as designers.

Keith was always creating, seeing things in new ways.

Summer 2004

In the summer of 2004, I stayed with Keith and his family in Salem, MA. He and I and his brother Peter spent several days hanging out, bumming around, goofing off in that particular way that was uniquely Keith-ian. I met some of Keith's oldest friends, saw many of his childhood haunts, and spent the better portion of a week laughing and reminiscing.

This photo was taken in Keith's parents' kitchen just before heading out to Boston for the evening, in one of those rare moments when Keith let another guy put his arm around him.

Keith commented on the photo that we both had big heads.

MOMA, 2005

Summer, 2005, Keith visited me in New York City. We had dinners out, drinks on the town, and, of course, visited the recenty reopened MOMA.

Of course, Keith's shoes had to match the art.