It was all an accident, an explosion

“In 1994 I was on a construction site in Washington and I remember entering the room and something exploded… I inhaled insulation and whatever else was in that room,” he told me while pointing out scars, recent scabs and more. “It’s in my blood, they can’t get rid of it. That afternoon I rode the bus home from work and when I got home I started throwing up,” he continued to give me more details. "It causes these scabs," he pointed at his arm. 

“Are you homeless,” I asked him. “Yes, I am,” he replied with a look of disappointment.

He then pulled an old and weathered health magazine out from under his arm and started flipping through the folded pages. He pointed at several photos, “See, that one looks maybe jaundice (pointing at a man on page 24).” He then headed to the next page, “What’s wrong,” he said while looking down at the many photos on the faded pages. “I don’t know,” I replied.

Before I left he said to me, “Why would you want to tell about me, take my picture – who cares.”

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia (1924-1998)

A listening ear… that is all you have to offer if you have no means to help another financially. It really is that simple.   

Leo Buscaglia, PhD was known as Dr. Love. He was an American Author and motivational speaker. He also worked as a professor of Special Education at the University of Southern California. 

Homeless in Atlanta

It was a hot and humid day in downtown Atlanta. Dan, who is homeless, told me that he is aiming to make a move to Miami, Florida in the near future.

“I was stationed at Ft. Knox and later in Houston,” he told me while talking about his years in the United States Army. “I later ended up in Germany, but my troubles started in Tampa,” he said while concentrating. “What happened in Tampa,” I asked with curiosity. “Well, the people were racist to me, not all of them but some,” he said after taking a slight pause. “They wouldn’t let me back in the Army,” he cut the story short but went back to the idea of moving to Miami.

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”  - Abraham Lincoln

82nd Airborne Division

He was once in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. Today, he calls the streets of Atlanta, GA home.

“So, how did you get to Atlanta,” I asked. He grinned, “When I had a weekend pass I’d come to Atlanta because I loved it, after the Army I just stayed here.”

The 82nd was initially nicknamed “All American” because of the diversity of the states that the soldiers originally came from when it was first formed. Today the patch still highlights that, “AA.”  

Sergeant Alvin C. York, who once served in the 82nd Infantry Division, stated this after capturing 132 German Soldiers during World War I (in regards to keeping the German Prisoners of War safe):

“On the way back we were constantly under heavy shell fire and I had to double time them to get them through safely. There was nothing to be gained by having any more of them wounded or killed. They had surrendered to me, and it was up to me to look after them. And so I did.”

This is a bad area

His home was the entryway of a closed down Atlanta business. “People are mean… we have had other homeless right down the street try to rob us,” he told me. While looking down he suggested, “This is a bad area.”

He is originally from California, but most recently lived in Nashville before his move to Atlanta. He came back to find his girlfriend whom is now on heroin, according to him. However, he no longer sees her because of the drug use.

“The gas station across the street won’t let me go in there anymore because I’m homeless,” he said with a frown. “And I bought a coke there every day.”

American author Wally Lamb once stated, “Human behavior in the midst of hardship caught my attention very early on, and my first stories were all pictures, no words.” 

Meet Belle

The sculpture is called Belle. It suggest the natural curves of a woman, according to many.

The abstract sculpture was designed by artist John Portman and he said it was inspired by the female form.

It quietly sits in front of the Hotel Indigo on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA (230 Peachtree). It stands at 18-feet tall and is cast in chrome and sits quietly on a granite pedestal.

Weight: 4,750-pounds

The sculpture was made in New York by Portman and later hauled to Atlanta by way of a flatbed trailer.

He said he was in the Airborne Division of the Army

He had a white napkin tied around his neck and as I approached he yelled words that I could not make out and then smiled asking for a lighter. A nearby woman who was smoking happened to have one that I borrowed and lit his cigarette with. He smiled and saluted me.

“Were you in the military,” I asked with curiosity. “Yes, the Airborne Division of the Army,” he told me. He then started naming off boxers from the 60’s and 70’s… “Do you know Sugar Ray, Joe Fraizer, The Kid (Kid Gavalian)…”

The subject then abruptly changed to Presidents. He got quiet and walked over to me holding his finger in front of his mouth while looking around to make sure no one was listening, “Richard Nixon – you know who that is,” He asked me. With a swift response from my mouth of “I do” he jumped around and yelled, but I could not make out his words. He then got quite again and I asked, “How old are you?” He pointed at a Hyatt hotel across the street and said, “Old enough to know not to go back there!” He then told me that he and his wife once lived in the Hyatt, but she left him. He got close again and asked if I knew who Jimmy Carter was as he held his fingers up crossing them in front of me. “Jimmy and her were close,” he said.

As I left he told me, “Don’t trust anybody, nobody.”

President Carter sometimes looked to humor in life. He once stated, “I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife to go swimming.”

I'm 80, I'm staying

"So, where are you from," I asked? "I'm from Ohio," he told me, saying that he came to Atlanta for his daughters wedding. "Are you headed back to Ohio soon," I questioned? "No, I'm 80, I'm here to stay." 

"Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art." - Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

I love for people to see my smile

You would have thought I gave this man, age 39, a million dollars.

I was walking down a busy city street with the temperature outside in the 80's and this gentleman caught my eye. He had on a winter toboggan and two coats, layered. He was not asking for money, just leaning against a store window watching people walk by. I had two bucks in my pocket and I handed it to him.

When he saw me lift my camera to my eye he quickly held up the money and said, "Can I do this when you take my picture?" I laughed and said, "Sure you can." He then told me that he loves for people to see his smile. 

As I walked away, he was still smiling. 

William Arthur Ward author of Fountains of Faith, is one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational statements in the world. Ward, who died in 1994 at the age of 73, stated "A warm smile is the universal language of kindness."

Six months to live

While in Georgia, I came across a traveling husband and wife who had been married for 15 years. The wife (pictured) was given about six months to live after being diagnosed as having a inoperable brain tumor and the two decided to travel the United States taking in sites and scenes that they have never been a part of. From California to the East Coast, they traveled the back roads by way of "Gas Jugging." 

I was unfamiliar with the term of "Gas Jugging," so with curiosity I asked, "What is that?" The woman looked at me and held her hands up as if she were holding a gallon container of milk. She said, "You pull into a gas station and instead of asking for money, which many people do, you hold out this empty milk container. You approach people filling their car up with gas and you ask, would you possibly fill up my container with gas for my camper?" 

"So, what was the most friendly city you guys have visited," I asked? Her husband smiled and said, "Really, all of Tennessee. Everyone was so kind." I did not ask what city or state was the most unfriendly, but they did tell me that they met all types of people while on their journey. "We met young people who train hopped to get across the country, we even met crack heads that we routinely bought dinner for - we had to quit doing that though, it got too expensive," they said in agreement. 

I asked the woman, "When were you given 6 months to live?" Without hesitation her husband beamed with a smile from ear to ear... "3 years ago." 

A talk with God

He was lying on his back in a small downtown Atlanta, GA park when I walked up to him on a sunny Sunday morning. With curiosity I asked, "What are you doing, you look very content?" He continued to smile without looking over at me while I was standing to his left. "I am talking to God," he stated.

Mother Teresa said, "We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls." This young man at age 27, finds that to be true.

Homelessness appeared to be far from his mind... Thankfulness for life is what I witnessed.

A stroke of bad luck

I met this homeless man in Atlanta, GA on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Despite a spell of bad luck and a short stay behind bars, he was upbeat about his future and the fact that his case was acquitted.

“When ill luck begins, it does not come in sprinkles, but in showers.” ― Mark Twain

Who should tell you what to wear or how?

We are all at war. Some of us just pick different things to be "at war" about.

 Charlie Chaplin had an interesting quote about his fellow man...

"I am at peace with God. My conflict is with Man." -Charlie Chaplin

Eat well my friend

"I just ate," he told me. I asked, "Was it good?" He told me it was great. 

A famous writer from England by the name of Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) once stated, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” I think this man would agree. 

Food Not Bombs

The group Food Not Bombs set up shop in a small Atlanta park on a sunny Sunday afternoon and served food to the homeless, the addicted and the less fortunate. It was a very positive event with smiling faces and live music for all to enjoy. 

According to the groups website, "Even though we provide meals and groceries to thousands of people we are not a charity. Food Not Bombs is trying to inspire the public to participate in changing society and focus our resources on solving problems like hunger, homelessness and poverty while seeking an end to war and the destruction of the environment."

Empty Places: Got Milk?

I was honored to tour the old Flagship Atlanta Dairy, LLC in Georgia, thanks to the generosity of a local government worker at the property that is now used as a parking lot for Government of Atlanta vehicles. 

In these photos, I decided to make the exterior shots in black and white and the interior ones in color. Why, you ask? Who knows?

I do not know why the Flagship Atlanta Dairy, LLC closed, but I have to admit that I found data from the federal government quite interesting. Evidently, the company had a Food Service Contract with the Department of Defense. 

In 2005, the dairy had a contract with the Department of Defense that added up to $98,037. By 2008, that number grew to $2.28 million. In 2009, the contracted amount dropped significantly to a mere $3,225.

Empty Places: An abandoned school in Georgia

I was able to walk through and photograph the John B. Gordon Grammar School with a man whom attended the school in the 1970’s. He had fond memories of every room, including the cafeteria, the auditorium / gym and of course the principal’s office. He pointed to the stage with a smile and said, “My very first school play was right there.”

The school opened in East Atlanta, GA in 1909. As you look through these photos, you will be able to see some of the vibrant colors of years past as lead based paint flakes and falls to the now dirt floor. You will also see that some years, the colors were dark or bland. Other years boast pastel greens and yellows.

The school was shut down in 1995 and later purchased by a development group with plans to turn the structure into loft apartments. That never happened and in 2009, the property was foreclosed on.

In April of 2014, the building caught fire. Today, it is a total loss and will likely be torn down in the near future to make way for development. When that will occur is still up in the air.

These photos were captured in June of 2014.