"HUMANS OF NEW YORK"

I know I'm pretty darned late to this party, but as an older resident of an age-restricted-adult community, that can happen quicker than you might think.  Here's the deal.  A few months ago, a much younger friend of mine "liked" a posting on Facebook called "Humans of New York," which meant, as far as I can tell, that since she liked it and she was my friend, it showed up on my News Feed with (more or less) her recommendation.  Apparently I had a few minutes that morning, so I checked out the photo and read the post...going so far as to click on "continue reading."  I personally liked it, decided to Facebook "like it", and I've read nearly every post since.

If you're already hooked on HONY, there's probably no need to keep on reading as you may know more than I do; but, if you're not, please hang in here and see if the concept appeals to you.

In 2010 (this is what I mean about "late to the party"), a young man named Brandon Stanton lost his job as a bond-trader, so he picked up a camera and began to wander the streets of New York taking photos of passers-by while interviewing them.  Bond traders are notoriously gutsy people, so his background provided perfect training for approaching strangers while focusing a camera and clutching a notepad.  His photo-blog, "Humans of New York" became one of the most frequently read, recommended, and highly-praised blogs around.

As far as I know, most of his work is done in New York, but he does travel from time to time.  For the remainder of September he will be completing a United Nations-sponsored road-trip begun last month to ten countries in fifty days.  Today (09/04/14), he's posting from South Sudan--specifically, from the "Confident Children out of Conflict Center" in the town of Juba.  The stories run the gamut, so don't think you're going to be depressed every day.  One today made me laugh (boys will be boys sort of thing), and the other two made me happy in a soul-filling-spiritual-singing sort of way (a mother and her four-year-old-son reunited, and a little girl emotionally breaking through a past trauma.)

For me, "Humans of New York" is a perfect vehicle to prove that we ALL (ALL is not a typo) share love and hope and despair and joy and sorrow and loss and grief, not to mention humor and honesty exactly the same.  Gender doesn't matter, color doesn't count, age doesn't separate, wealth doesn't protect.  We are all part of the same whole.  We are inter-dependent.  We can't exist if we ALL don't exist.  Hearing and listening, reading and understanding can't help but make this a better world.  And, we need a better world.  Badly.

In all honesty, even though I've learned and enjoyed and opened my heart to Brandon's stories from the Middle East and Africa, I'll be learning just as much when he returns to New York.  I love the result when he runs into an older (read OLDER) couple and asks how they met, or what did they did on their first date.  Those old guys and gals will blow you away.  I hope I get old with that much panache!

Enjoy!
humansofnewyork.com 


Margie