DAN AND TOM

Dan, Tom and I found each other late one December afternoon near a bus stop in Tampa. He was assisted in his wheelchair by a fellow nomad, a young man named Tom. Tom, a quiet person who laughed at anything and was quite protective of Dan.

Dan, 2020, Renato Rampolla

Tom, 2020, Renato Rampolla

Dan was not up to talking much save for a request of me.

"Have you got a light?" he asked.

"No, sorry I don't."

"Could you go in that store and get me a lighter? I'll give you the money. They won't let me or Tom go back in there."

"Why won't they let you go back in there?"

He leaned forward and as it were the last breath in his lungs he would ever take, clenched his jaw and gasped, "Cause they're Assholes!"

"No worries. I got money and I'll go get you a lighter."

Seeing his temperament first hand, I got the answer to my question.

I didn't get to know Dan much. He really didn't want that. I did get the sense that Tom and Dan had the sort of symbiotic relationship that is often prevalent on the street. It was an alliance between someone that has the answers and someone who has the force. Dan had all the answers.

We took some pictures but Dan kept shifting his eyes. He was at the very least, not used to the attention. Or perhaps, he was nervous about something else.

Tom bounced on his toes and interjected, "Would you take my picture too?"

Tom enjoyed the process of portrait making much more than Dan did. Dan was a bit nervous about the attention. There was more there, behind Dan's eyes, but I did not feel it was my right to probe.

SEE MY WORK UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL:

Going on Now:

Solo Exhibition Museum of Art in Deland, Florida.

Group show at the Maitland Museum of Art and History