this is pierre. he is a cleveland clinic police officer that i got to know yesterday morning. i was taking pics around the building. he approached me and i thought, "oh no, he's going to yell at me for taking pics on clinic property."
but no, he asked me if i ever attended any plays at the old theaters as a kid. that led us into a long conversation about the beauty of the building, and how sad it was that now it sits vacant. i told him about my photography project (taking photos of the old theaters, arranging tours for coworkers, hoping to get people talking about saving the buildings.)
i asked if i could take his photo and he kindly obliged. he then gave me his business card and explained that when he's not being a cop (which he's done for over 30 years) he's an "ambassador to the amish".
he was born in france, of polish descent, raised in cleveland. his parents sent him to work on amish farms during the summers when he was a boy. so now he teaches people about amish culture.
this is maurice. he is in charge of the building. when i started my job and heard about someone giving a tour of the old parts of the building, it was maurice who gave that tour. so it was maurice that i stalked. i wanted to see those old theaters and i wanted to get photos.
so i made it a point to introduce myself to him, to get to know him, and then to worm my way into getting a tour of the building.
maurice is incredibly kind and generous. he's also hilarious. and he loves to give that tour! his father worked in the old theaters, so he grew up in these buildings. he knows every inch, all the history. when he gives the tour, he can tell you where that store the thousands of costumes, which parts he thinks are haunted, what famous actors walked the halls.
i've only been at this job for 2 1/2 months, so i really look forward to meeting more interesting people, and talking more pics of that amazing building.
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