Wednesday, April 7, 2010

untitled late night thoughts

two weeks ago, i was in fresno california. driving down the highway on the way to In-N-Out, I spotted homeless people on the street.

noted, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary at first. i've seen, met, talked to, walked by plenty of homeless people before in my lifetime-- new brunswick, nyc, philly, chicago.

but recalling the faces i saw that day-- the homeless people holding onto cardboard signs-- they were no older than 25 years old. i had just turned 23 two weeks before arriving in california.

the most powerful of imagery that stuck to my mind was the look of shame they felt as they stood there, asking others for spare change. chump change. dirt change. yet, if they didn't stand up and ask, how else would they wake up to see tomorrow? that clashing of internal sadness and yearn for survival.

and then sitting here, unsleepy, reading nytimes.com article on Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) by N. Kristof.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/opinion/08kristof.html?hp

and suddenly all the empty, exhausted, mind-wandering feelings inside of me just seemed to have left. because i realize that tonight, i have a bed to crawl into. and for that, at the very least, i should be grateful.



this being my photography blog, i might as well leave this entry off a tad bit brighter and lighter. here's a image i captured back in 2005 on my trip to Africa.