感恩节话感恩

2010-11-25 14:11

作者：麦克西
中文博客：www.MichaelCBlog.com
国内博客：www.Maikexi.net

2010年11月25日。今天是美国一年中第二重要的传统节日，感恩节。以前孩子小，过感恩节除了电视上看看游行、球赛，吃一顿火鸡，或外出度假，倒没有什么特殊的地方。现在孩子大了，时常想到如何教育他们怎样去理解“感恩”的意义。昨天突发奇想，建议儿子和他的朋友一起在感恩节的早晨去休斯顿寻找、采访无家可归者，他们欣然答应。平时邀孩子单独和我一起外出摄影比较困难，这次他有伴而行、互相促进，应该是他们这样爽快答应的最大理由。

感恩节早上，电视上开始播出纽约Macy's游行，休斯顿城中心也有HEB游行。我们约好9点出发，但他们俩起床较晚，11点半才出门。我们从糖城出发，沿着59号公路朝休斯顿开去。我走的是辅助路，可以看到每个交叉路口的大桥下有没有无家可归者。一路上发现无家可归者很少。我想，今天很多地方有专门给无家者提供的免费感恩大餐，也许大部分流浪汉都去吃大餐了。有一些无家者也许并不是真正无家，只是把在街头行讨当作一种“职业。”假如这些人在感恩节也流落街头应该是真正的无家可归者了。

过了3-4个路口，在Bellaire路口上才看到第一个无家可归者正在行讨，我们开始有点兴奋起来。我们在路旁的小商场停下车，走到桥下，发现原来还有一位坐在地上在吃午饭。我们和他们聊起来。原来准备给他们送食物，但后来觉得太麻烦，食物体积大不容易带，也容易冷，最后还是决定给他们每人送十元美金，并以此征求他们的同意给他们摄影、用他们的照片、问他们问题。他们每个人都欣然答应。就在我们与这两位聊天的时候，路口的其他两个方向也陆续来了两个行讨者。也许他们此时才“起床”、“上班”。

我们在Bellaire路口上访问了四个无家者。后来车开到下一个路口Hilcroft，又看到一位。总共五位，其中居然有三位来自德州东部的路易安娜州，两位的名字叫Michael，两位的名字叫Ricky。白人、黑人、西班牙人似乎都有。他们好像都是长期靠马路乞讨为生，冬天太冷才去城中心的Salvation Army过夜。

两位小朋友一开始对这样的活动有点紧张。我们把钱包都留在了车上，以防万一。和第一位聊开以后，他们渐渐放开下来，挺认真地问问题、做笔记，结束的时候还和他们握手。我给他们一人配了一部小相机，他们和我一起给这几位无家者拍了很多照片。其中两位还特意告诉小朋友，他们后悔没有读完书，鼓励他们一定要完成学业，否则结果就可能像他们一样流落街头。从桥下走回来的时候，我们在地上拣到一颗子弹头。这里的确是些很糟糕的地方。

离开Hilcroft路口我们开往城中心。在那里没有看到什么无家可归者，倒是在市政府附近有很多人排队，不知道是感恩节免费大餐还是在开派对。我带着两个小朋友朝休斯顿城中心东北方向开去。按照新闻惯例，那是一个穷人区，很Rough，我们不敢下车。我们在那附近转了一转，我开着车，小朋友在车上忙着照街景。

然后我们开车回到休斯顿西南部的新中国城吃中餐。在美国全年只有两天几乎所有商店都关门，一是圣诞节，二就是感恩节。整个休斯顿冷冷清清，Mall，餐馆，Grocery Stores统统打烊，只有加油站还运业。可是，中国城特别热闹，各种商店都照常服务，生意很好，是朋友们一起逛店子、买东西、吃吃喝喝的好时候，也给我们的活动提供了非常好的对比。

我们就这样度过了今年的感恩节。我想不用我说，小孩子已经从今天的活动中懂得了更多的感恩的意义。流浪汉的几句话胜过我一箩筐的话。

Homeless But Not Faceless

Nov. 25, 2010, Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is the second most important holiday in the US. When my kids were younger, it meant eating turkey, joining parties, watching parades, or having a family vacation elsewhere. As my children grew older, I started thinking more about how to teach them to be thankful. When my son's friend, Leo, came to our house a few days ago, I suggested my them to go interviewing and photographing homeless people in Houston with me on Thanksgiving Day. Both agreed to do that.

We left Sugar Land at about 11am and drove on the feeder road along Highway 59 toward Houston. My recollection told me that it should be easy to find homeless people under the overpass bridges. But we didn't find any in the first several overpasses that we drove by. We thought maybe they were not on the street on Thanksgiving Day since there were so many places offering free Thanksgiving meals around the city. We finally saw one begging at the intersection of Bellaire. We parked at a nearby shopping strip, walked toward them, and started the interviewing and photographing session...

Photos by MichaelC

Armed with my Canon 5D Mark II camera and 50mm/1.2F lense, I chose to shoot close-ups on this trip. I want to show the faces of homeless people without showing much of their surroundings. If judged only by their faces, it's hard to believe these are all homeless. That is why it's important to ask them questions, listen to their answers, and find out their stories.

(1) "Michael" came from Lousiana a long time ago. He is a quiet person answering questions only when we asked. He used to be an AC service technician but has been living on the street for many years now. He has relatives in both Houston and Lousiana. He was there on this Thanksgiving day to accompany Ricky. When we arrived, he was sitting on the ground eating lunch from a to-go carry-out box.

(2) "Ricky" was much more talkative. He was disabled with a broken arm from a motorcycle accident. He came from Lousiana 15 years ago and have lived on the street for 10 years. He said he sleeps at night behind an AT&T store and sometimes in the bushes. He seems to know many people on the street. A police car drove by, he waved to the policemanand telling us that was a good cop who often protected them. He saw a couple of other homeless people and shouted them to cover over to meet with us. He dropped out of school at 11th grade and wishes he didn't. He now lives on whatever people are giving to him. During our interview, we heard his cell phone ringing in his pocket.

(3) "Gino" is 58 years old from Florida and has lived on the street for 28 years. He has three sons, three daughters, and six grand children. The last time he saw or spoke with his sons was 17 years ago. His sons knew he lived on the street but did not help. He was run over by a car one month ago leaving him a broken leg.

(4) "Rick" is from New Orleans and has been living on the street of New Orleans and Houston for 13 years, long before Hurricane Katrina. From the background you can see the overpass from Highway 59. I counted and gave him ten dollar bills. Later when we were getting into our car, he walked back toward us. The kids locked up the car. He complained to me that I gave every one else $10 but him only $8. There was no good way for me to argue with him. I simply gave him two extra dollar bills. He happily left.

(5) "Mike" lives under the overpass at Hilcroft. He grew up in Houston but now lives on the street. He lost one hand when he fell from a scaffold on a construction site. He said he killed his family or something like that. He goes to church every other week. When we approached him he was on his way to his bible study. He was concerned and kept asking us if the photos would show up on local newspaper. We assured him that would not happen.