A man was sitting on a park bench in Macon, GA. I approached him from his left, not realizing that he was listening to an mp3 player. When I started to speak, he pulled his headphones off, I felt like an idiot intruder. Nevertheless, he agreed to be photographed.
He said that his name was DeWayne. Hearing the pronunciation, I said, “D-U-A-N-E?” He said no, gave the correct spelling, and began pulling papers out of his wallet. He tried to show me his drivers license, to prove the spelling. I assured DeWayne that I believed him and that it was unnecessary to prove it. Now I REALLY felt like an idiot intruder!
He was born and raised in Macon. I asked him what he looked forward to in the new year. DeWayne went on a long monolog about how religions feuded among themselves, disagreeing on interpretations of God. He was especially frustrated with the Christian denominations raising barriers, rather than being inclusive. He hoped that the new year would bring more harmony. Heavy thoughts.
Bob