Create Our World

Pauley G. says this is one of the top 5 places to live in the country.

Pauley G. has long curley hair and makes his living teaching people how to surf.

“Teaching some Wall Street Bankers today,”  he says, “I hope more of them come down.”

He is a regular at the local coffee shop I have been sitting at recently.

He has muscles and knows everyone, it seems, that comes here.

He says that this is such a great place because it is an hour from “the City (NYC),” 2 hours to Washington, an hour to the beach and a little over an hour to the mountains.

Pauley G. snowboards, too.

He has been other places, but he likes Somerset, New Jersey best.

I am not so sure.

I will be here till mid- July spending time with my Nana and Papa.

It seems a bit… suburban to me.  Maybe a little boring.

My aunt let me borrow her 10 speed bike.  A blue Panasonic that I will use to scout out the area.

New Brunswick is close by, which is the home of Rutgers University so I will be checking out that zone soon.  Except I am a little scared of riding my bike with all the traffic.

Also, my uncle goes to the City every weekday, so I want to go check out Brooklyn while I am here.

I hope life is well with everyone, keep sending me emails on how you all are doing.

Create Our World,

ben.

“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” – Confucius

Well, I can’t comment on the whole Look Festival.  What I saw, I dug though.

Martin Parr gave a great slideshow and talk.  I laughed.

His style is, make it funny and interesting to look at (for example, a young boy starring at a clerks breasts) and pack in a great message about what our society is about, unbeknownst to the viewer.

“With photography, I like to create fiction out of reality. I try and do this by taking society’s natural prejudice and giving this a twist.” – Martin Parr.

Create Our World,

ben.

“The photograph itself doesn’t interest me.  I want only to capture a minute part of reality. “  ~Henri Cartier Bresson

9 days ago, I left Richmond. Well, to be more accurate, was trying to leaving Richmond, but couldn’t catch a ride.

It took all day for my Macbook computer to be “fixed,” (a week later it is back in the shop) so about 5:30pm, I stood on an off ramp near Downtown Richmond hoping to get a ride to Charlottesville.

I made a sign. It was bright orange.

“Charlottesville” With a Big Thumb.

Cars whipped past.

I tried another off ramp, near Staples Mill Road.

The cars whipped past.

As the sun went down, I gave up.

After sleeping at my good friends house, Anderson and Amy, I got up early and hit the road. This time trying to get as far EAST as possible on Broad Street.

At around 9am, I was again on an off ramp headed towards Charlottesville with my sign.

The cars still whipped past.

In a big city, it is hard to catch a ride.

UNTIL, Jason pulled up.

Jason and his girlfriend, Laurel (I lifted a photograph of his from flickr)

He was off to deliver some macaroons to girlfriend at work. She is a French Teacher at a local High school. They have been dating for about a year.

He had picked up these macaroons early morning from a local baker. “Come over before I start baking,” she says, which means before 8 am.

He sneaks them on her computer, while she is at an assembly.

Jason is a Romantic Dude!

“Well, I’ll take you to Charlottesville,” he says. He is not doing much today.

We drive. We talk.

Jason offered me his iPhone; “I know I don’t know you well, but…” he starts. I guess he is getting a new one soon and doesn’t need this one. We make tentative plans to send it to me in Jersey.

We couldn’t find parking when we got to Charlottesville. We drove around awhile.

Jason had ideas to get his girlfriend another present.

After finding a spot, we walked around the Downtown Mall and he looked up a place to buy a whole loaf of cornbread.

“Eppie’s Restaurant” in the Downtown Mall is the place.

“It takes about an hour,” he says.

So we wandered around. Charlottesville was hosting the Third Annual Look Festival of the Photograph. “3 Days of Love, Peace, and Photography.”

Jason just loves to give. He recently wrote me an email about how there should be a television program about giving gifts to others.

He is the man and a reminder to me about the fun of giving gifts!

Create our world,

ben.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” – St. Francis of Assissi