Sydney Dolan // Philadelphia, PA
One of the cooler experiences I’ve had of late. This is Bella, of ”the most holy cities, The City of David, Jerusalem”. Imagine her surprise when I told her my name is David. But I digress, and I’m getting ahead of myself. I was sitting in Rittenhouse Square, Pennsylvania on this beautiful Easter, killing time before my flight to Denver that night. As I was about to leave, this lady sits on the bench across the walkway from me. She signals and catches my eye and pulls down her mask and smiles big, pointing to my Give me a Smile hoodie.
Bella: “That’s a nice slogan, I’ve never seen it!”
Me: “I would hope you’ve never seen it, it’s my personal photography brand!”
Bella: “You are a photographer and you don’t have your camera? Shame on you! ... do you develop?”
Me: “Yes, I develop! I photographed a ballerina yesterday with my Hasselblad, and will develop it tomorrow.”
Bella: ”Very nice! I used to shoot black & white film, many years ago. I’m a little older than you.”
Me: ”yes, just a few years older than me.”
Bella: ”how old are you?”
Me: ”31”
Bella: *raises 3 fingers in an Inglorious Bastards manner* “3x older than you! I am 92 years old.”
At this point she gets up from her bench and comes and sits next to me; at this I frantically reach into my pocket and put my mask on, and she says “STOP! I hate the masks!” She asks if she can see some of my ballet photos, and then I confess that the most beautiful women in the world that I’ve ever seen are from Israel.
Bella: ”that’s because you didn’t see me there. I used to be beautiful, but now I’m old and wrinkly.”
After talking about my project, showing her some images that completely blew her mind, she claims ”woooowww. How did you do that?! She’s like, falling from the sky?! No, really, you must make a book. You will sell millions. That will be your cover.
As I’m preparing to leave, I ask if we can take a photo together, and if she would allow me to take a photo of her as well.
Bella: ”only if I can take off this stupid mask, and you must not wear your pineapple mask.” That day, Bella made my day, and according to Bella, ”you just made my week, David, beloved of God.”
April 3, 2021
