rest in peace

on thursday morning
 i had
 a text message
 from 
our 'adopted' son joseph

 he wanted me
 to take a
 'good' photo' of 'the memorial to eric smith in front of the phone booth on broadway at 80th'  

i texted back
 'sure. who is eric smith?'
 even tho joseph
 who is working nights at the delacourt theatre
 was 
still asleep at 5:30 am 

i had no idea
 who
 eric smith was
 i took the photos as requested







 emailed them to joseph

 later
 i was browsing facebook
 there was a post by joseph
 citing the memorial 
it answered
 my 
'who is eric smith'
 question

 mr smith
 was
 a homeless man 
a fixture in our neighborhood
he hung out on broadway at 80th street 

when h&h bagels was on the corner 
he would open the door for customers
in the hopes of getting a tip or a bagel
 after h&h closed 
and
verizon opened
 he continued 
to be a presence on the street

 you may recall this photo


that 
was
 mr smith
in front
of
 the defunct h&h bagel windows 

rest in peace
mr smith