Kindness of strangers

I stationed myself in front of a mirror, hoping to catch a picture something like this one of Vivian Maier's. These two young women came toward me but, being terribly kind and accommodating, they bent low to pass beneath my camera to avoid spoiling my shot. Who says New Yorkers aren't polite? Sweetest people you ever want to meet.

Today Devorah and I went back to the Vishniac and Chim exhibits at the International Center of Photography. After a few more hours there, we headed down to the West Village, where I lived while I was in actor training at HB Studio and full of dreams. I remember in my body how much of an uphill struggle life seemed when I was twenty-six and desperate to prove myself worthy. I said to Devorah, "I didn't yet understand what it means to be an introvert in theatre, or that my voice was never going to have the kind of depth and resonance I dreamed of having."

She laughed, "What did any of us know about ourselves at twenty-six?" Then we walked up to Chelsea, where her parents lived after they left the Bronx, and where she and her kids stayed when they came to the city to spend a week with the grandparents. She imagines that in a year or so maybe her grandson will be coming to spend a week with her.

I've added a few fairly decent shots to the album.