Eric Thinks He Knows

We care about him, despite his declarations to the contrary. Yesterday, he complained that too many people lectured him. “Social workers, street workers, friends and my mother ….” Well, Eric, it’s because we don’t think you will survive the winter.

“I just want a place to say what I know to be true. I know what they want me to do. Go to Voc Vermont. Eat at the Food Shelf. Sleep at cots. Then they’ll give me a place. Suppose I don’t want that? I want to be free. How bad am I doing? I do what I want. So, I drink too much. People have lived on the street for years, 30, 40 years. They tell me I’m just a baby.”

Ramon walked by. Offered Eric a cigarette. Ramon had a store bought pack. Eric took one and then rolled his own.

Sleepless in Burlington VT

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End of Summer. Atonal kind of day. Chilly following a blast of summer. Lots of people without places to stay, wondering what will happen when the weather turns frosty. But, for today, and the last couple of days, just find a place to crash and try to relax.

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Eric didn’t look like he would make it. But he has resolve. Won’t let anyone help him. It’s there when he wants it, but he doesn’t know he needs it. Not sure it will  make any difference or that he will survive.

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Probably want a Ben and Jerry’s, but they weren’t open.

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Battery Park offers a view of the Lake and the sky. A favorite spot for Rudyard Kipling when he lived in VT.

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Find a bench on the Battery. Protect your things and your skin.

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Asleep in mid thought. Had a place to sleep. Dozed in public.

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Near a bathroom facing the Lake. First time I felt threatened. Dogs running free. One kid said, “…, retard …, I love fucking up old men.” Not very Burlington of him, eh. I got scared and left.

Richard Stark Wins Best Canadian Short at 2013 Montreal World Film Festival

Richard Stark, Canadian/American film maker won best short film at the 2013 World Film Festival in Montreal with a comedy of style presentation, 30 Love.

 

 

 

 

 

So, a would be entrepreneur, barely able to make car payments auditions with his wife at a classy, upscale tennis club, thinking membership will advance his business interests. He’s a child-man with a clear headed, sexy wife who isn’t as sure that dealing with narrow minded snobs will make them happier or wealthier. They obviously haven’t played the kind of tennis which would be required to join the club or dealt with the kind of people who make up the membership. In the end, he has to chose between marital bliss and social mobility. Guess who wins and how it happens? Preston Sturgis would be proud.

 

Street Portraits, Montreal Aug. 2013

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I make portraits on the street. I approach, ask for permission and then try to pose my sitters. Some sit still. Some move. Some talk. But no one has paid me. And, I find the level of cooperation to be fleeting and uneven. Artists who draw faces receive compensation and ready compliance.

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Sy Rettinger, lives at 77

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So, my friend, Sy visited yesterday from California. He stopped in VT after a pre-Rosh Hashanah cemetery visit. Charlotte died seven months ago. Palpable grief exudes, for how long who knows. 46 years of devoted marriage can do that to a man who lived with a witty, artistic and smart woman.

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Sy practiced dentistry, left handed until a muscle injury forced his retirement. You can see the eyes that patients in the chair found reassuring as he improved their dental health.

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He’s socializing while here with friends and family. Has kids and grandkids in the Western part of the country. Finding a creative self in stained glass. Carries a big and heavy heart. Helping to contribute to a new understanding of aging and living life to it’s fullest.

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Jack Lavery in Battery Park


Hadn’t seen him around since election day. Just sitting in Battery Park, I asked what he was up to? “Looking for a wife,” he said.

I reminded him of our last meeting when he said he was the “laziest man in Burlington.” “Oh, I had a job. worked in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Once saw a cop have sex with a woman in a car.”

“So what upset you more, the cop not working or the sex?”

“The sex.” He better not tell this to whomever he attracks to be his date for the day.