Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 510

She was sitting alone outside a nursing home. “When I...

She was sitting alone outside a nursing home. “When I moved here," she said. “I had to give up my cat for adoption. There were two broken hearts. Hers and mine."

"I’m having a puppy party!"

"I’m having a puppy party!"

"I’m an artist. I paint murals.""What would you say to a...

"I’m an artist. I paint murals."
"What would you say to a young artist?"
"Fuck the rules."

"He took me on a surprise trip to Paris one weekend.""Where did...

"He took me on a surprise trip to Paris one weekend."
"Where did he say you were going?"
"He told me that we were taking Air France to Canada."

I found these two in Central Park. After I took their photo, I...

I found these two in Central Park. After I took their photo, I began to ask Dad some questions, but ended up getting some perfectly valid, yet generic responses:

"What was your happiest moment?"
"When my daughters were born."
"What’s the proudest you’ve been of your daughter?"
"I’m always proud."
"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"I’d rather not say."

After a few more attempts, I resigned myself to the fact that the man wasn’t going to reveal any details about his life. His reserve was perfectly understandable, but I left a bit downtrodden. Because I loved the photo and was hoping to pair it with a great caption. When I got home, there was an email in my inbox:

Dear Brandon,

I saw you in Central Park this evening with my daughter (red head). You asked me about my happiest day - I told you when my daughters were born (I meant it). You asked me what the saddest day in my life was - i told you I’d rather not answer. Well, it was Aug 12, 2006 - on that day, my wife and I lost our first baby - she was 36 weeks pregnant (his name was Peter). It was horrible. But now we have 2 beautiful little girls, so Im grateful. The reason I was unable to provide a specific answer to questions about my happiest day or what makes me proud about my girls - because everything does. Thank you.

"I went to college in Poland for banking and economics.""Why...

"I went to college in Poland for banking and economics."
"Why didn’t you work in those fields?"
"When I came to America, I didn’t speak English well enough for those jobs. Then I had my son. And you know, when you have a family, you’ve got to work."

Today in microfashion…

Today in microfashion…

"Put all your eggs in one basket. Because if you aren’t...

"Put all your eggs in one basket. Because if you aren’t sure what you want, the Universe isn’t going to help you get it."

"What’s your favorite thing about him?""He’s...

"What’s your favorite thing about him?"
"He’s spontaneous."
"Give me an example of a time he was spontaneous."
"About an hour ago."
"What happened an hour ago?"
"Nothing."

Then, turning to the other gentleman:
"OK, well, what’s your favorite thing about him?"
"He works hard to make people happy."
"What’s a time he worked hard to make you happy?"
"About an hour ago."

"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of...

"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?"
"There are things you do, and there are things you don’t do. Don’t do the things that you don’t do."