“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.” Seneca
This is #21 in my 100 strangers assignment. Check out the 100 strangers website to see more pictures and people working on the same assignment!
Since Las Cruces passed an ordinance banning panhandling, it is very unusual to see people on corners asking for money. I was driving off the freeway and saw this man on the corner, holding a sign that said hungry. He looked old, thin and sick. I held a $5 out the window but he didn’t walk over. There was this strange look in his eyes, like he had given up. I turned off the engine, got out and walked over to him. When I handed him the money, he looked at it like it had no meaning and tucked it into his pocket. I thought about asking him for a picture, but there was something about his expression, a sadness, that I didn’t want to capture. Maybe if I didn’t take a picture I would be able to forget… pretend that the despair I saw wasn’t real.
I squatted down in front of him. “What’s your name?” I asked. He raised his head just enough to look at me and I saw tears in his eyes. “My name? I don’t have a name. What good is a name to me?” And he tucked his head back between his knees. I waited a moment, and then walked back to the van. I grabbed a disposable camera that I keep in the glove box and took this picture. I guess a part of me wanted there to be some record that this man exists, name or no name.
When I got the pictures back from the photo lab, I was disappointed at first. It is easy to overlook him, his clothing blending in with the dirt and cement. But that is fitting, I guess. How many times do we pass people just like him without seeing?
This is a very touching story, K, wow.