I took this picture of Jimmy back in March at our Next Step workshop. I’ve been holding on to it just so that I could get the right words to say.
I was only able to spend a few moments with Jimmy, enough to find out that he is a widower. He was married for 56 years before his wife passed away, about 5 years ago. He said that now he comes to downtown Savannah on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and sits in front of this cafe all day. He does it for a few reasons:
1) It helps him to not miss his wife so much.
2) He loves to meet new people and to talk with them.
3) He loves to feed the dogs.
Any time that you see Jimmy out front, he’s smoking his cigar, or has it nearby. He’ll also have a a couple of Milk Bone dog biscuits sitting on the table for those his 4-legged friends who happen by with their 2-legged friends.
Jimmy’s a really nice guy and will sit and talk to anyone who has a moment to spare. It was a pleasure to meet him. I’ll be sure to look for him each time that I return! So, if you are ever in Savannah, near Monterey Square, on BullStreet, be sure to look for him!
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9 Responses to “Jimmy”
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Jimmy would be proud to see this portrait
Excellent portrait!!!!
I agree with William … he would be happy to see this post …
Isn’t that a touching story!! You know, when we don’t have much, it’s incredible how much something so little, like sitting in front of a cafe feeding dog biscuits to the pups as they come by, can mean to you. Very nice, Paul. Oh, and the portrait is so intimate and quite flattering. Good work.
Very nice! the portarit is so good…the sparkle in his eyes say it all. Well Done!
Lovely portrait.
Lovely man.
I’ll ne sure to look for him the next time I am out that way.
Great portrait! And B&W seems to be the perfect choice…
I wonder, have you ever thought of asking (some of) the people that you portrait for their addresses? Would be a nice way of saying “Thank you”, if you’d send them a printout.
To be honest, it has never occured to me, that this would be a nice gesture. But after the comments from William and Intern. Hm…
Thomas
Thomas: I do that. However, what I do is give them my card, which has my name, cell phone number, and website address. I write on the back the date and frame numbers. I ask them to e-mail me and I’ll send them a picture that they can have printed. This seems to make people more comfortable, than asking for personal information. It works. If they don’t have a computer, or access to one, I will offer to mail a print, but I’ve not met anyone who didn’t have access.
A great image to go with the story. He sounds like a wonderful, wonderful man. It’s what a lot of people miss in today’s age. So much. hate, worry and everything else makes it hard for us to just stop, smell the roses (or the cigar) and say hi and talk to someone. We’re all guilty of it, but we should all try and change.
And being he sits in front of the cafe all day, I assume the cafe is fine with it, which means they are at least advanced more than the average joe these days.
Good point, PJ. The cafe is so ‘fine’ with it that they won’t let anyone else sit at that table during the days that Jimmy is supposed to occupy that seat. Further, since he’s been doing it for at least 3 days/week for 5 years, EVERYONE knows that that is Jimmy’s seat. You can sit at the other table if you want, but not at his … unless he invites you, which he will always do!
One could safely say that in Savannah, GA, Jimmy is an icon!