Seeking Human Kindness
A photo series highlighting people and the words they shared on the streets of Boston
I met Michael in a Boston subway station. I told him I liked his sign. “What matters is what it means to you,” he told me. I asked what it meant to him. “Doing a deed or expressing kindness to another person without expecting anything in return,” Michael said. I love approaching strangers wherever I go. Listening and talking to them teaches you about people and how similar we all are to one another. Just like Michael, we’re all seeking human kindness.
“I’m just grateful to be alive.”
Words from Charles, a man I met on the streets of Boston. He explained that he just got out of the hospital after being there for over a month. “I got stabbed multiple times in the stomach. It messed me up pretty bad,” said Charles.
He’s currently staying at the homeless shelter downtown. It was fascinating to hear his story and how he’s maintained a cheerful spirit through this adversity.
“I thank God for everything good in my life.”
Words from Pat, a lovely woman I met on the streets of Boston. She was enjoying the summer weather and taking a break from her job —cleaning homes. “Make sure you appreciate all that you have today, and don’t take it for granted,” said Pat.
She didn’t want her photograph taken at first, but then after having a conversation she allowed me to capture a few shots.
“I haven’t slept in 4 days. My mother went to a drug den looking for me.”
Words from Hugo Gomez, a man I met on the streets of Boston. He told me he grew up close by, but he’s half Puerto Rican/half Dominican. “I’m addicted to heroin, crack and alcohol,” Hugo explained.
When I asked him why he had been avoiding his mother and why he quit his job, he said probably because of fear. Although it may not be as extreme as Hugo’s situation, it seems that we can all relate to running from something out of fear.
“Learn from your mistakes.”
After asking Albertus what advice he would give to his younger self, he responded:
“Learn from your mistakes. First, you have to admit that you’ve made one.”
Kien, my Vietnamese neighbor in Dorchester, can regularly be seen tending to his garden and smoking a pipe.
Ahmed has been selling flowers in this same spot under an overpass in Dorchester for 21 years.
Torri Jackson (Faneuil Hall Boston) nurses injured or sick pigeons back to health. The bird in the photo above is named Charlotte.
Richard enjoying an evening coffee in the North End of Boston.
