Fred the Poet

[herron]

Found this in that old bunch of negatives and transparencies I found in the back of my file drawer the other day. I remember the original print made from this negative being much better, so it must be my scanner (or perhaps the scan-ee) It was shot in October 1968, on 35mm Plus-X, with my Mamiya 1000DTL. The exposure information is long since lost and forgotten.

www.mamiya35collectors.com/fred the poet68.jpg[/img]

We all called him Fred the Poet. He lived in the neighborhood of the univerity I attended, and used to wander about campus all day. To earn a few extra dollars, he would pose like this for photo students a couple of times a week. The whole time he was sitting there -- indeed the whole time he was sitting or walking anywhere -- he would recite really bad poetry that he made up on the spot.

We all thought he was a little daft, but he was a gentle old man, and we actually liked to have him around. My son saw this scan and said, "I can believe it...he has gentle eyes."

[PeterW]

Wonderful old character, Ron. I like the way he's sitting there, hands on his knees, looking into the distance and not at the camera. Makes you wonder what his memories are.

With the casual dress - check shirt and braces (suspenders, I think, in the US) - and the long white beard he's the sort of charcter that comes to my mind when someone in a film about the American mid-west talks about an ol' timer.

Peter

[herron]

Peter:
I have a shot or two of him on the same roll where he is looking directly at the camera. For some reason, however, this is the shot I like. He was looking off, trying to think of a word to complete the (very bad) poem he had been creating. This shot makes him look thoughtful...the ones where he is looking at the camera he just looks lost.

He dressed this way all the time. In the winter, he had the most rumpled looking topcoat, that was way too long for him, and a university scarf that someone had given to him (green and gold). He also wore large rubber boots, the kind that had a lot of buckles up the front to close them...except he never did, close them that is.

I once bought him a cup of coffee at the dining car (an actual dining car) that was on campus. He started up another poem while sitting at the stool next to me. I bought him some bacon and eggs to make him stop!

I never saw him again after I graduated, but he was a fixture for the four years I attended...and had been around for many years before that! I rather liked him!

[kamera]

Ron,

Well he was most likely eccentric being a poet...so dressed in context...LOL...!

Frankly, to me, much more appealing than the way you see the ritsy titsy pro-team owners who cannot even let their hair down, so to speak, when they go to a game. With a few exceptions, they always have to look stuffy in their suit, white shirt and tie.

Guess I relate better to more down-to-earth people.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI