THE CAMERA

I had been searching for a downtown identity in those first years when I was working for The Brownsville Herald. Downtown's inhabitants couldn't help but notice a new face that they were seeing on a regular basis. Initially, there was distrust. Who was this unfamiliar white man wandering our sidewalks? Was he homeless? Was he a criminal? Was he a sexual deviant? Should we call the police?

I was even suspecting myself of dubious motives as I caught reflections of my figure in store-front windows. How was I going to establish an identity that would allow me to flow freely in this human river of anonymous faces? In the same store-front reflections I discovered the solution hanging around my neck--my camera!

I put myself in their places. I had them thinking: This must be a somebody. A murderer doesn't walk around with a camera around his neck. A man with a camera can't possibly be dangerous. Then who is he? Curiosity replaced trepidation. With a camera around my neck, I had carved out a niche for myself.