Week 4 of the 365 Day People Picture Project is complete! Day 22 - Robert
Robert is my neighbor and he was a lifesaver when he let me take his picture. Ok, "lifesaver" may be a bit dramatic, but he was definitely a project-saver! I did 24 miles that day. After finishing, it was my intention to go home, clean-up, and then go downtown to shoot. Well, you remember how badly I was hurting after just 21 miles…add 3 more miles of pain on top of that and the result was that I was in no condition to go back out to find a subject. As luck would have it, my neighbor was outside in his garage when I pulled into my driveway. I had the strength to hobble across the street, explain the project and my need for a subject, and Robert obliged.
We've lived across the street from Robert for 15 years and sadly, we're still basically strangers. I do know enough about him to know that he's a pretty awesome guy and we're very lucky to have him as our neighbor. My husband was seriously injured in a work accident several years ago. He had to miss work for several weeks and he really couldn't do hardly anything in order to recover. Right before his injury, our lawn-mower died and purchasing a new one just wasn't on the top of the priority list. (But our lawn had gone to hell and it was getting embarrassing!) We came home one day and Robert had mowed our lawn for us! That was just about the nicest thing that anyone could have done for us during that tough time. I feel a little safer knowing Robert is just right across the street.
Day 23 - My Step-Brother-In-Law
My in-laws hosted a lovely barbecue on Labor Day and although there were over 20 people there, I didn't have any "volunteers" to be the subject for day 23. My poor Step-Brother-In-Law let me take his picture for the project, simply because he is just too nice of a guy to say no.
Day 24 - Richard & Margie
Richard and Margie are from New Jersey and were visiting Mt. Tabor Park. They asked me how to get to the top and I explained the most direct route was up the 265 stairs, which is a bit of a killer, but the view of Portland from the top of Mt. Tabor Park is worth each step. Watching the sunset from the top of Mt. Tabor is one of my greatest simple pleasures and I hope these two were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Day 25 - Ian
Ian was playing tennis with his little daughter. Ian was injured several years ago and because of his injury, sometimes his back will go out and knock him out of commission for a few days or even weeks. That day was the first day he had really been active since the 4th of July. After several trips to a chiropractor, he finally felt well enough to play a little tennis with his daughter. He explained that it's the good days, like the one he and his daughter were having that day, which help him to get through the not-so-good days. He does his best to pull himself together so that he and his daughter can enjoy life and have fun together.
Day 26 - Randy
Randy is a co-worker and friend. He's also pretty inspiring to me. In addition to working full time and being a husband and father, he also maintains Skate and Annoy, a skateboard blog, and owns a skateboard company. I really don't know how he does it all! Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed or like I can't do this, I think about Randy and realize just how much he's juggling and he still maintains his blog and posts almost daily.
Day 27 - Jan 
I met Jan in the parking lot of Costo on Friday evening. She was pushing her cart to the return area when she offered it to me. I took it, and took the opportunity to ask her if she'd like to be day #27. Her personality was just about as bright as the colors in her jacket. I was so impressed with Jan. She looked like she may have been in a little pain and maybe had a little trouble walking but she had just conquered shopping at Costco on a Friday night and still managed to be the friendliest person there.
My brief interaction with Jan washed away the worries of my week and set the tone for me to have a very happy weekend. Imagine if all of our interactions with strangers could be so positive. We really do have the power to shape our experiences if we just put in a little effort to be a little more kind with one another. Even if we're not in the best of mood, if we can manage to at least share a smile and a friendly word with a stranger, both people leave the interaction feeling happier.
Day 28 - Arron
I decided to head down to the Vancouver Farmers Market in order to find a fun subject to close week 4. I had been wandering around the market for a while when I turned around and found Arron's, Absolutely Juicy booth. We printed t-shirts for Absolutely Juicy, so it was fun to run into a customer there!
Arron is another inspiration in that he turned his passion for eating and living healthy, into a full-time business. When you're able to work doing that which you love, that is success! Next time you're at the Vancouver Farmers Market, keep an eye out for Absolutely Juicy and give them a try!
Thank you so much for following along. I feel I have a lot of work to do, but it would be my hope that somehow, these pictures will touch you in some way. Even better, perhaps these pictures and my experiences will inspire you to open up, a little more than usual, to the people you encounter in a day. Most of these interactions have been quite brief but the impact I've felt will last a lifetime.
I Instagram these pictures daily and if you'd like to follow along, my Instagram and Twitter username is missellanea.
Thank you!