One doesn’t always have change to spare, but when someone reaches their hand out, the least anyone can give, is a smile.
This is how all the interactions I have with people panhandling start. With a smile. And a genuine “Hi. How are you?”
I’ve had amazing conversations with people on the streets, I’ve learned things about history and geography; I’ve learned about cultures I’m not from; about our society, about literature, art, and philosophy. I’ve laughed, and I’ve cried; I’ve both felt joy and anger; hope, and despair.
To me, these are so much more than pictures, or even portraits. They are memories; recollections of encounters that shaped me into the person I am today. I’ve grown more as a human being by speaking with all these people than by listening to all of the teachers who’s class I attended during my education.
And I’m sharing them here today for I hope they’ll make you want to stop, listen, and grow with these people too.
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#1 Fernand Is Probably The Nicest Guy I’ve Ever Met. And Many People Commented The Same Thing When They Saw This Picture On My Blog
#2 Mario Went To Prison After He Killed The Man Who Raped His Little Baby Boy. He Then Lost Everything
#3 I Asked Him What Feeling He Wanted His Picture To Convey, He Said “Love.” And I Snapped This As He Was Saying “I Love My Wife”
#4 She Once Hit A Man With A Stick, Because He Had Just Done The Same To His Dog
#5 After Posting His Picture, Someone Actually Hired Normand To Do Some Construction Work
#6 He Told Me About The Time A Little Girl Gave Him Her Lollipop And It Made Him Cry
#7 Mostafa Speaks 8 Languages. Including Yiddish
#8 Fanny Ran Away From Home, And Her Abusive Step Dad, When She Was A Teen
#9 He’d Probably Convince The Grinch That Smiling Is The Best Thing Anybody Can Do
#10 He’s Inuk, And He Married A Cree Woman. Though It Was A Difficult For Some People Of Their Respective Communities To Accept, This Was The Happiest Day Of His Life
#11 Katt Definitely Wins First Place In Terms Of Sign Creativity
#12 They Had Just Started Saying “I Love You” To Each Other
#13 He Used To Be A Professional Skater. Went Too Far With The Partying That Comes With It
#14 He Has A Wife And A Baby
#15 They’ve Been Together For Nine Months
#16 She’s Fighting The System To Be Able To See Her Daughter Again Someday
#17 He Used To Work For The Cirque Du Soleil
#18 He’s Doing All He Can To Find Himself An Apartment And Get Back On Tracks. But When You Start From Literaly Nothing, There Are Many Hoops To Jump Through
#19 Her Favorite Author Is Simone De Beauvoir
#20 He Taught Me A Lot About Heroin Addiction, And What Withdrawal Does To Your Body
#21 They Taught Me How To Say Merry Christmas And Happy New Year In Inuktitut (The Inuit Language)
#22 Jake, The One Standing Up On The Left, Voluntarily Overdosed Himself A Couple Of Days Ago. He Had Been Clean For 45 Days Then. He Hated The Fact That He Loved Heroin. He Will Be Sorely Missed By His Friends
#23 He Quit Drinking A Few Months Ago. He Made The Decision To Quit On The Day He Set Out To Kill Himself
#24 “We’re Salt And Pepper”. Salt Was A Military Man, He’s Decorated Three Times
#25 He’s A Rock’n’roll Lover. Anything There Is To Know About The Beatles, He Knows
#26 I Didn’t Get To Speak Much With The Gentleman, But I Think The Spot He Picked For Himself Says A Lot About His Personality
#27 He Plays Jingle Bells Quite Well
#28 He Became Religious When He Quit Using Drugs
#29 Reggie Taught Me A Magic Trick
#30 They Taught Me How To Say “Be Happy” In Inulktitut
#31 He Was A Marksman In The Canadian Military. Ok I Have My Doubts About The Veracity Of The Story He Told Me, But Still, It Was A Cool One
#32 Gilles Passed Away In Late 2016. He Was Fernand’s Best Friend. They Considered Each Other As Brothers
#33 Even Though They Each Have Their Own Place, Evan And Elizabeth Sleep Outside Some Nights, Just To Stay Together
#34 They Taught Me That Happiness Comes From Within. They Said “We Are Happy Because If They Weren’t, Then They’d Be Miserable”
#35 He’s Cherokee
#36 This Is Ozzy. His Best Friend’s Name Is Also Ozzy
#37 He’s Actually Saving Up Money To Buy A Playstation
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