30 Days of Dinner Time, Day 29

In the window, Nick and Adrian. I know Nick through a "seven degrees of separation" way. He works with a girl who volunteers at a homeless shelter (or did until she recently moved). Nick began volunteering at the same shelter where I also volunteer and eventually met him. Okay, I guess that's only three degrees... but still. During our acquaintance-hood stage, Nate and I went with Nick (and his girlfriend Adrian) to a one-hour-free-alcohol karaoke party where we bonded over amaretto sours and Bohemian Rhapsody. Our friendship has continued to grow ever since.


I'm not totally sure what they brought for dinner, aside from the blue plates, candle and water bottle visible in the photos. Day 29 was the second and final night that Nate had to fill in for my absence. He missed the meal details but said, "it looked like sandwiches but they ate them with a fork, so it could have been crepes, but I don't know."

This night was much like the others, warm and viewed by a crowd on their way to the yearly church carnival down the street. As many people from the neighborhood have become accustomed to the piece, and other summer time events move into the periphery, it feels like this piece is ready for a graceful retirement. Not that it needs to be new and exciting every night, but the gesture seems to have filled up to its own brim and is now looking for its own lid for containment.

In an act to retain images of the evening, Nate relied more upon quotes he gathered from people passing by. I love quotations as they are bits of reality in a decontextualized form, like photos with no image. On one hand they both show factual vocal detail but also leave a lot to the imagination.

One man on a bike asked Nate, "When can I go in there and eat rice and beans?". For future ideas and projects I need to remember questions like these. Over and over again people with small interest all the way to people with sturdy commitment to the piece have asked how to participate. There was a time when I thought no one would set in the window, but now I see that it takes only a few brave souls to empower others to be brave as well.

Nate also wrote: "Another man with a Puerto Rican hat carrying an American flag blow-up machine gun wearing a camouflage vest and cut-off jeans shorts said 'Are we entitled to go in there?'". Nate was so fascinated by this man's appearance and likeminded verbiage that he read me this quote with a smile and tiny exclamation points hidden in his voice. I have no idea what this man would have done if Nate told him to go right on in... but the fact that he is apart of the memory of this piece makes it unique and beautiful beyond my wildest dreams.