Preparing fish during the morning hours to be sold at lunch at a small restaurant in Mexico City. Notice, it is being prepared on the cafe table where customers will later be eating.
Lonely Streets in Mexico City
A lonely street on a Saturday morning in Mexico City. Employees of businesses stand and wait for the company they work for to open their doors for the day. Very few employees are key holders.
He was fast asleep
The song by Craig Morgan came to mind after the writer of the song woke the sleeping man:
“I was afraid that he was dead
I gave him a gentle shake
When he opened up his eyes
I said, "Old man are you ok?"
“He said, "I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree"
I was runin' from some honey bees
Drip dryin' in the summer breeze
After jumpin' into Calico creek
I was walkin' down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you'd just left me alone
Cause I was almost home”
-Craig Morgan, Almost Home
Photograph captured in the Tepito market on a side street in Mexico City. Tepito is an area known for crime and and area largely governed by gangs. It is an area filled with kidnappings, shootings and robberies. However, this man was sleeping peacefully.
Anything helps
He was sitting outside of a church in Mexico City with his hat extended seeking help.
In the doorway
Tucked away on the doorsteps to a closed office building in Mexico City he is at a place that he considers to be home. The building is vacant, other than his watchful eye next to the large glass doors that have not been opened in years.
"Being homeless is like living in a post-apocalyptic world. You're on the outskirts of society.
- Frank Dillane, English actor
The face you see
Quietly sitting and looking upwards as pedestrians passed him by on a sunny Saturday afternoon in bustling Mexico City he had a yogurt, an apple, a piece of candy and a baked good in front of him. As people neared, he would extend his hat in an effort to seek a few pesos.
The poverty rate has been on a steep increase since 2006 in Mexico. Today, 42.9% of Mexicans live below the national poverty line. For a comparison, America has a poverty rate of 14.5% and that number has actually been on the decline.
“Underneath my outside face
There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,
But a whole lot more like me.”
― Shel Silverstein, Every Thing on It
Organ grinders and accordion players
Organ grinders and accordion players are scattered throughout Mexico City. They can often be found in front of restaurants and sometimes, even inside. In the slums and the rich areas alike, music fills the air.
Music and art are two things that Mexico City has a lot of. While the city is filthy throughout, it is also artistically rich. Graffiti can be found on every corner… some good and some simple gang markings.
The city has well over 100 art studios, galleries or museums.
The city also has an exact replica of the Empire State Building. Well, maybe not exact. While it looks the same, it is considerably shorter than the real deal. The building in Mexico City is 44 stories tall and the real building in New York is 102 stories tall.
Anything to survive in Mexico
The homeless population in Mexico City is quite large. In fact, some report that over 15,000 of the homeless are under the age of 18. Those who are under that age often do anything to survive. Some sell their bodies while others perform dances on Subway cars for tips.
As we age
He moved to Tennessee years ago with his family. Originally, he is from Alabama. I met him as he was walking home on day.
When asked about his mother he said with a smile, “She’s still living, she’s on up there in age.”
There is something beautiful about age. I think the Beatles pinned it best…
“When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?”
Living on the sidewalk
He was in his sleeping bag on the sidewalk and could not tell me his full name or age. He seemed to not be able to comprehend much, but appeared to be sober.
“Some people think mental illness is a matter of mood, a matter of personality. They think depression is simply a form of being sad, that OCD is a form of being uptight. They think the soul is sick, not the body. It is, they believe, something that you have some choice over. I know how wrong this is.” ― David Levithan, Every Day
Life can indeed be a struggle
Homeless and living in a small encampment in Nashville, Tennessee. Despite struggles, he is all smiles and pleasantries.
"The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don't give up." - Robert Tew
59 and Sober on the Streets of Music City
One man, alone from Michigan living in the woods with nine others who were at first strangers and now are friends is battling sobriety.
He is 59 and has been sober for a total of nine months thus far. He said at first, he was shaking all the time, but that has since passed. Now, he is starting to feel what normal is supposed to feel like.
He came to Nashville after growing tired of his family, he told me while outside at a busy intersection. “They drank all the time and always argued,” he said. Alcohol can often lead to heightened arguments that are needless while sober.
“That's all drugs and alcohol do, they cut off your emotions in the end.” - Ringo Starr
Life on the street
Life for a foreign man in a foreign country can be confusing to navigate. Homeless in Tennessee.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" - On the Statue of Liberty
Lonely in the Big City
So many standing before us are filled with loneliness even though they stand on busy streets surrounded by people pretending not to see them...
"Hey you, out there on the road
Always doing what you're told
Can you help me?
Hey you, out there beyond the wall
Breaking bottles in the hall
Can you help me?
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall"
- Pink Floyd, Written by Roger Waters
Random street photography
Random street photography... I always enjoy photographing people. Something about it is interesting. I sometimes feel as if I am part of a great big sociology project. You know, like I am on the outside of the world looking in and just watching how people function in society. Yes, I am a bit weird.
Judging - Worth Reading...
After he got out of jail the first thing he wanted to do was to hold his cat that he had not seen during the time he was behind bars.
As I sat in his dimly lit motel room with stained sheets on the bed, I watched him play with the young kitten. The world around him was silent. The cat was the one thing in his life that fully accepted him. Despite his drinking, cursing or even anger… the cat was the one constant that never judged anything that he has ever done.
I have used this quote before, but I like it:
“Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight.” ― Traci Lea LaRussa
In the case of the man photographed:
- His father, who served in Vietnam, died of cancer when he was only a teen.
- One of his twin daughters died at five months of age. The other daughter who is still alive today, has lived with a distant family member since the death of her sister. The last time he saw her was when she was three. Today, the family member lives in another city and will not allow him to see her. Today, she is about 12.
- He has lived on the streets for multiple years fighting alcohol and life.
- One more thing… He went blind at age 15. Today, he is 34.
It’s easier to understand where someone is in life, once you know a few more details about their past.
Have You Met Sonny?
If you have ever been to the Nashville Flea Market at any point in the past 30-years, you have likely met Sonny Helmer. He is a ball of fire at age 86. Sonny sells antique rotary dial phones at the market during the last weekend of each month.
Prior to restoring old phones, he was a musician. In fact, he sings at the market as you walk past his booth. If you tell him your name, he will sing a customized song on the spot using your name while playing his electronic keyboard.
Sonny told me this past Sunday that he was “Almost Famous,” which is also the title of his book.
Sonny spent 70 years in the music business and had played along with great names like Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong and others. He even played trombone with Al Hirt, led a band in the Jackie Gleason night club for five years and spent ten years leading the band at Disneyland in California and later Disney World in Florida.
If you see Sonny, thank him for his service to our country too. During the Korean War, he was a member of the 392nd Army Band.
Pat Steele is an artist
“My name is Pat Steele,” he told me… “I’m 55 years old and life has been a blessing only because of the Lord.”
As we talked it was obvious to me that he is an artist. His art is finding old scraps from buildings that are being torn down and utilizing what he finds to make bed headboards, benches, wall hangings and more. Oh, and he corrected me when I said old buildings by saying, “Some of it’s out of old boats, some of it’s out of old trees, some of it’s out of old buildings.”
He then told me that he loves raw and old material to create new things with: “Anything that is raw – Everything gots’ its own level of respect and I try to respect it. Even people being created in the image of God, even they are something special because you’ll never meet one that’s the same and that kind of stuff interest me.”
About Pat Steele:
“I trained combat engineers for the Army. I got out and couldn’t adjust to society so I got into trouble. 30 years ago I went to prison – got out of prison and was recruited back into the Army, got hurt and couldn’t make an assignment.”
You can find Mr. Steele at the Nashville, TN Flea Market on the last weekend of each month. There, you can see what his eye sees.
Artist Peter Max once stated, “I never know what I'm going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I'm just the middleman.”
He misses her
“I’ve seen - - I don’t know how many friends get murdered and die. I mean, Knoxville is a cool place, but it’s treacherous for the homeless. I’ve seen them die. That’s why I’m up here in West Knoxville,” Steven Henn told me. Evidently, the West Knoxville area is safer for homeless due to the upper income of West Knoxville residents.
The 55 year old then paused while describing his current life, “I lost my girlfriend.” When I asked how she died he said with tears in his eyes, “She… I think her liver… She did not tell me things that were wrong with her because she did not want me to know that she was dying. I knew she was dying, but it happened real quick - - gosh darn I miss her so much.”
His leathery skin was a mix of red and orange. His body covered with scars followed by tattoos.
I asked him about his childhood and he stated, “I was born in Indiana and my dad moved us to North Carolina when I was 13.” He went on to describe the atmosphere of where he spent his teenage years, “Back when I was a kid a guy use to put a gun to our head and he said – You beat this boy up or we’re gonna shoot ya.”
“Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools.” - J. K. Rowling, screenwriter and film producer
Judge me not
“Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight.” ― Traci Lea LaRussa
He said to me, “I’m from Hohenwald, Tennessee, but, I’ve been all over the place.”
“Man, I’m not asking people for money, I just need food in my belly,” he told me while rubbing his stomach.
I sat down next to him looking up at the passerby’s and could not help but to notice the need for everyone to avoid eye contact. The pedestrians were doing this with everyone – not just those who were sitting on the sidewalk anxious to eat, to drink, to pill, to snort or whatever they felt they needed to fill that empty hole in their heart.
The funny thing is… if funny is even the right word, the pedestrians were on an equal mission to fill that empty hole. Some drunk, some high, others on a spending spree. I think at times that I too am trying to feel that empty hole.
What bothers me is the judging that takes place day after day. I see it more and more today than in my past. Perhaps age has opened my eyes? Situations? Life?
I am judged daily by others, I hear the gossip and it is not kind. I see the looks, etc.
If you are reading this, I bet you hear hurtful talk about yourself at times. The question is… what do you do when you hear it? React or smile with a slight laugh? I guess what we should do is care less and less about what others say and keep living, but we are human.
As for this man I photographed, the judging has likely led to a lack of help by family, friends and those who have yet to meet him. He currently lives in a tent located near the Cumberland River in Nashville within a small community of campers who also feel similar pain.
“Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect -and I don't live to be- but before you start pointing fingers... make sure your hands are clean!” ― Bob Marle