Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:20 pm
Before I got my first real camera a few months ago, I vividly recall two instances prior, when I wish I had a camera.
In the first instance, I was on the subway in Boston. It was Father's Day. There were just about 4 other people maybe in the train car. Sitting across from me was a man of about 40 years of age. He looked like your "average Joe" kinda guy. In his hand was one of those "gift bags", and it said on it "Happy Father's Day". I found this image so sad, for a number of reasons: It was clear to me that this guy had been at the home of his child/children, with whom he did not live, and that he was now going home, presumably to a home in which he lived alone. And the formulaic gift bag just added to the sadness for me.... the fact that nobody seems to take the time anymore to put much effort into the act of gift-giving, and picking up a bag that you can just dump the gift into is a quick and easy way to do it.
Another time I came across the most incredible sight EVER!! I live in Upper Harlem, which is primarily a neighborhood of African-Americans. There weren't many white people living there a few years ago (although that is slowing changing). So anyway, as I began making my way down the stairs to the subway, and as I was walking towards the turnstyles, a group of about 10 white people caught my eye. They were all standing together, and at first I assumed they were a tour group, as I also saw that they seemed to be looking in the same direction, perhaps listening to their tour guide... As I got closer, I noticed their "odd" clothing, and realized that they were Mennonites (I guess you could say it's a religion similar to the Quakers or Amish?). I then realized that the entire group of them (mainly adults) were all huddled around a young Mennonite boy, and they were watching in awe as he tried to figure out how to use the computerized machine from which to buy subway passes. The looks on their faces were priceless, almost like people from another planet who were seeing a computer for the first time!