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On Sunday mornings I sometimes take the dog and go over to the flea market in Socorro, Texas. This is a fairly large market where almost all the vendors are just poor people. There are very few commercial vendors. Probably 90% of my conversations there take place in the Spanish language.
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My little black doggie is well know there. Several people remember him and always say high to
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It takes around 30 or 45 minutes to walk the entire market. Generally when we are done we go by the white burrito truck and eat brunch. Today I got a burrito made of chile verde. The lady who runs it had saved some big bones with meat for Inu. Like always, after we got our food we went and stood under the nearby tree while we ate. Sometimes people walk by us, but we normally have this space to ourselves.
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Today there were two gentlemen there. One had his grocery cart containing all of his worldly possessions. They were both nice guys, a little down on their luck, who had led very hard lives. Inu laid on the ground next to one of them and ate most of the meat off his bones, and I ate my burrito. When we were finished eating I went to the car and got my Nikon D300. I wanted to see if my lunch partners would allow me to take their pictures. They both had very expressive faces.
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When I returned with the camera the fellow with the grocery cart had picked up both of Inu's almost meatless bones and was holding them in his hands. He seemed concerned that I would mind that he took the bones. I told him that of course he was welcome to them. It was apparent that he was looking forward to eating this food. I photographed both the guys (after asking each of them for their permission with as much humility as I could muster).
Then I pulled a $20- bill out of my pocket and offered it to the gentleman who had taken the bones that Inu had already chewed most of the meat off and then left laying in the dirt. I said to him that I would like him to have this money so that he could buy some food.
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He thanked me but refused the money...he said that I probably needed it more than he did! I doubt that he realized that my camera and lens cost almost $2,000-.
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And sometimes now that I am retired I feel a bit poor. I'll bet these guys don't complain that their taxes are too high or because they don't have health insurance. They are happy just to get a decent meal.
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Good Heavens, what dignity and grace these men had.
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