I had a meeting this first day of winter at Panera with Darren Wagner. Darren is the Art Director and Photographer for the Newtowner Magazine. His wife Georgia Monaghan is the Editor and Chief of this beautiful inspiring magazine.
The Newtowner is a one-of-a-kind quarterly arts and literary magazine
featuring fiction, poetry, memoirs, essays and features celebrating
local literary, visual and performing artists.
The Newtowner Magazine wants to feature the photographs of my mentoring students whose upcoming photo exhibit "Six Views" will be at The Silo in January.
Darren Wagner is an amazing man. He started by asking me about my story and how I got into photography. I said I would be happy to share and then would like to hear about his story. He is a wonderful listener and acknowledges how everyone has a story to tell and how he loves to listen to other’s. Funny how you put out a statement like that and out of the blue something grand happens.
In the middle of our conversation an older couple come over to the table next to us. You could tell that the older man was a bit anxious. He was trying to figure out how to plug in his phone. As he stated he only uses it about 6 times a year and it was totally dead. He was trying to remember how to plug it into his charger and started to crawl down on the ground to find an outlet. Darren stepped in to help. Turns out he ran over something in his car and got 2 flat tires. His shiny blue mazda was sitting in the parking lot. He was trying to contact AAA to come out and fix the flats. He was having trouble getting the phone to work and then when it did he couldn't hear the AAA agent on the other end. Darren took out his phone and made the call and arrangements, enabling the older gent to and feel at ease and relax. Then he and his wife in all their appreciation because of the help they were receiving starting telling us about their lives, their children and their grandchildren. They lived in Queens and had moved up to Newtown 6 years ago to be closer to their kids. They are both 85 trying to embrace new technology like his cell phone. They have been married 60 years. They love Newtown and find all around them a community rich in talent filled with generous spirit.
I would have liked to have photographed them. Their faces and mannerisms had lifetimes of stories to tell. The gentle demeanor was captivating. The husband said he turned 85 this year and felt old, yet he had this life long smile in his eyes and around his mouth. Darren, a true Samaritan watched out for the man and kept an eye out for the tow truck. Turns out this couple comes into Panera a few times a week and the staff all know them. They too were watching out for AAA to arrive.
Once the tow truck came Darren and the older gent disappeared. The wife began telling stories of their grandchildren and the up coming wedding that she was so excited for. For them, family is everything. They are truly proud of all of their descendents. She shared that she worked behind the scenes with Broadway Shows and also worked with a Congressman. The husband was in the Jewelry business for many years selling to major stores such as Fortunoffs.
Darren and the husband came back in with a plan, the husband was going to go with tow truck to the dealership and Darren was going to drive the wife home. She has trouble walking and was growing tired. We flanked her while she walked so that she woudn’t fall. She stopped to talk to some people on the way out, sharing holiday cheers with them.
Darren is so right we all have a story to tell. On this first day of winter it was a gift to sit still and listen and feel stories that were told. We all inspire one another. Darren and I will have ample opportunities to finish sharing our stories with one another in the near future.
Happy Holidays.
Six Views Exhibit Jan 14th – Feb 19th 2012. Opening reception Saturday January 21 3- 5 pm
Artist talk February 19th 2pm
Featuring Photography Students ,
Amanda Drake, Connor Cushine, Evelyn Fenick,
Maggie Kennedy, Marissa Nadeau, Tim Ciavara
