All around me

Often times, when I have the urge to read or write, I make my way to a nearby coffee shop and cozy up for a while. The only problem with this is the fact that I get so distracted by the life around me, that I don't get much accomplished. All the different people, doing different things. Every little movement catches my eye and pulls my attention away from my tasks at hand. But today I'm getting away with both. I'm writing what I'm observing.

The more that I come to this coffee shop, the more familiar the faces are becoming. I see the same people in here each time I come in. There's the old guy with the pony tail, that plays video games on his computer for hours, taking a break every little bit to go smoke a cigarette. There's another older gentleman, who at first glance makes me think he is a liberal and an atheist, but that's just me judging. He just has that look. I see him every time that I come here. He's one of those social kind of people that seems to know everyone. I've made eye contact with him a few times and I have a feeling that I may soon know this faithful customer. As I look at him now, he is lost in thought, with that faraway stare, and a slight smile on his face. I bet he is imagining himself on some tropical isle, with a cold drink in his hand. He was just talking about the weather with one of the other faithful customers and joking about the snow. A lady in a fur coat just walked over to the old guy with the pony tail and put a wad of $1 bills in his hand. He looked at her confused, and asked, "What is this?" She threw up her hands and said, "It looks like money to me!" and sat back down at her table. As he put the money in his pocket, he said, "I won't forget this!" Hmm, interesting transaction. The liberal keeps looking at me and I feel like he is going to say something to me soon. He did a double take when he noticed my bible sitting on my table, but he just realized that his satchel was missing and quickly left for the library, where he thought he left it. Oh well, I'll meet him some other time I'm sure, and maybe we'll discuss religion then.

As soon as you walk into the cafe, there is a chair tucked back in the corner to the left. Every time I step into the cafe, I am met by the same big, sunken eyes from that chair. He's incredibly skinny, as if he has lived the vegan lifestyle for quite some time, and he always has on big winter boots that look kind of silly on his little frame. His messy beard and hair almost make him look homeless, but as he pulls out his iphone, it makes me think otherwise. I wonder what he does for a living? This place sure does attract some interesting people. I love it.

So where is this post going? Ha I'm not quite sure. Maybe I'll end it by saying that people are funny. Especially the ones that are a lot different than you.

Haiti, 2003

I found some old pictures from my time in Haiti. This was my second international trip and this is some of my early photography, when my heart was beginning to be stirred. I hope these lives have been unaffected by the earthquake, but it's impossible to know...

Central Market/Prince St.

Sharaya Mikael

Walnut St./Queen St./Lemon St.

Took a stroll around the block today and the light was epic!

Heading North

I was so determined to get home from South Carolina, and would have made it had they not shut down the highway! So now I'm stuck in a hotel in Virginia, awaiting a chance to keep driving. This is the story of my day yesterday...

I have felt the need to be intentional about taking pictures. It is far to easy for me to put my camera in its bag and not think about it for weeks! That's not good, as it leaves me always feeling kind of rusty and uninspired. So I have been stopping for little bits of my day and am taking pictures of things that I might have ordinarily not paid much attention too. So this is my subject, Aslan, who is king of the household. The name is very befitting.

The woods behind the house looked quite mysterious, so I went exploring...

An opportunity to help!

South Carolina

30 w
83 n
581 w
81 s
77 s

Roads, hours, cars, songs, prayers, aches. That was my day yesterday. 8.5 hours from Lancaster to Fort Mill. Turning into Regent Park felt good. I miss this place.

And an evening ensued with much laughter, food, and good friends. I REALLY miss this place.