“There is always a way, you just have to want it bad enough.”
Say, “Hello,” to Brian: dancer, graphic designer, and gym enthusiast. I met him at Kinko’s while printing paperwork for a casting session I was doing the following day; assisted me in restocking paper into the printer I was working at. He was a pleasant guy, so I struck up a conversation. At first it was all business, but then we shifted to more personal notes, finding out that he had suffered a back injury similar to mine, but only worse. “I’ll never forget the date, December 15, 2010,” he quoted as we shared stories. I discovered he had a true testimony of exercise and diet, something I knew firsthand after rehabilitating my lower back issues; avoiding surgery through incremental improvement in my workouts and eating habits. Without that, a serious back injury can lay you out in a serious way: weight gain, depression, and loss of interests are some of its terrible side effects.
Put this into your mind: Brian was a seasoned dancer. The kind of talent you’d see behind your favorite musical artists. For him, a back problem was a big deal that altered his future and training in that part of his life. But he managed to turn it into a sort of metamorphosis.
I was inspired by him. As always my camera was with me, and as our conversation got more comfortable he volunteered to be photographed.
We stepped outside, resuming our casual talk, to hang out for about 15 minutes. I listened to his stories of how he turned his back issues into real blessings. Brian was not one to throw in the towel. Yes, he did gain a bunch of weight with his injury, but still kept his commitment to the gym. With a lot of sweat and effort, and through a lot of pain, he lost 70 pounds in a few months, something he deemed as key to putting him on course to regaining his strength and mobility.
In the depths of his skills, he was also a video editor and used that talent to work with some of the great dancers he had always been inspired by. Told me, “Now I talk often and learn from the dancers that used to seem so unapproachable.”
That night I became a better listener as Brian and I sat on a step in front of a busy Kinkos, and that night I found the genesis to the two questions that would ultimately drive the 365 project and continue to ground Sidewalk Ghosts.
Those Questions:
First: Do you have anything you want to share with my readers? His reply, “There is always a way, you just have to want it bad enough.”
Second: What do you see yourself doing in ten years? He responded with one word, “Producing.”
Readers, if you are returning, so nice to be with you again. If you are new, looking forward to getting to know you.
To all: please comment, like, and forward. Every engagement goes a long way toward connecting us; as together, we grow a movement that betters the way we view and treat one another.
Talk tomorrow my good friends,
Richard