He calls me "dear." I call him Joe. He lives in my community. We chat every week at the market....at the same spot where he plies his trade.....busking without an instrument. Our conversations run the gamut, from politics to social issues. He "catches me up" on what is going on in his life. I offer some encouragement and a couple of laughs. Joe teaches me much more than I will ever teach him.....not that he's any older than me, but because he lives outside of the proverbial box and sees life, society, love and honesty from a perspective tempered by a hard life.
Today, he let me take his picture for my blog. I told him I was going to post it so everyone could see the sparkle blue of his smiling eyes. He laughed.......and stated......"I bet I'll scare the shit out of them, dear...."
nah..... this is the same man I wrote about last summer....here's the link.
Joe was the first person to offer me a hug this morning .... and a hearty Merry Christmas as I headed towards the market building. He has a big kind heart behind those tatoos and grizzly beard.
Merry Christmas to you Joe. See you in the New Year, my friend.
10 comments:
He looks simply beautiful! I can see the kindness in his pretty eyes. Please Hug Joe for me the next time you see him.
Blessed Be
some hugs are priceless....
I remember Joe's story from six months ago.
Please tell him, his photo didn't scare me - it brightened my day!
Let Joe know he is not really all that scary. Actually he reminds me of my own brother. :)
Totally irrelevant... BUT... love the new pic in your header:) That orange and blue contrast really vibrates:)
Oh Dana... I'm so glad this is your blog today. I just finished reading about the lady in Vancouver who passed away on the streets. It made me think again about the folks here who have come upon hard times. I actually thought of "Joe" and all the others I see downtown and at the market on a regular basis.
Next time you see Joe, tell him he has never "scared the shit out of me." His eyes have always shown the kind person he is. No rough or tattooed exterior could ever hide that.
As the others have said, please pass on to Joe he didn't scare me either, well maybe a wee bit with the tattoo on the bridge of his nose!! I do see the kindness behind those blue eyes too! You should sing Elton John's song Blue Eyes to him !!!:) Thanks for posting the pic!
thanks everyone. I will print of this piece and read it to him the next time i see him.
paul...some hugs are priceless. I am blessed by the many I receive in the course of my day. maybe i have a hug addiction or something, because i think it's part of what i love about my job and it keeps me in the frontlines.
monk! Thank you. I was SO thrilled with this picture too and loved the streaming colours and how they lined up. It is of the old train bridge in Fredericton that is now a walking bridge connecting the north and south side. I pulled off the road one evening at dusk and snapped a bunch of pics.
I don't have a frigging clue how or why this one turned out, but knew instantly that i had captured one goodie. I'd like to take a photography course AND get a camera like Paul's one day soon.
good to see you, well virtually. Merry Christmas Mr. Aussie Monk.
He's cute...I love the salt of the earth people who would enrich all of our lives if we all stopped long enough to listen. God Bless You for doing just that Dana. You are a beautiful angel to the downtrodden and I would certainly want you in my corner if I ever found myself in their shoes.
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