Photo: 3652 Days: #177: Last Day In The Booth: ABQ, NM.
3June 26, 2010 by Citizen192
June 26 2010
I looked over to our table and chairs and saw a man sitting by himself. He didn’t fit the bill, but there was a chance it was our participant. I went over and introduced myself. He was alone. And he was ours. Someone was scheduled to meet him, but the person canceled at the last minute.
I facilitated my last conversation today. Lilly interviewed him. His name was Juan A. and he talked about his life as a Chicano activist. I had questions, he had answers, and in the end it ended exactly as all the others. I lean over to the recorder, stop, look back and thank them for allowing me to listen.
Category 3652 Days, Photography, StoryCorps, Travels | Tags: 3652 Days, Albuquerque, Alejandro De La Cruz, Job, Me
You’ve done more that will be remembered than I ever will. I hope you are proud. And happier than your face lets on.
I was a bit on the somber side by the time I took the self-portrait, but there’s no doubt I’m looking at this last year as a gift.
A few months ago I started writing a post about the democratization of history. The saying goes that journalists write the first draft of history, but thanks to projects like Story Corps and people like you, that’s starting to change. There’s a subtle but fundamental difference between 1) drawing out personal histories as each individual wants to tell them and 2) fitting puzzle pieces into our own overarching narrative of how we see the world around us. The former is more difficult, more time consuming, and more honest.
Congrats on all the great work foo. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next.