Day 56 – The Boot

The Boot

I am not going repeat what I already wrote here. A quick synopsis, starting August 1st, 2010 I will publish a picture I take that day everyday for a year (well to be exact I will do this everyday until July 31st, 2011). This is the 56th of those photographs. Also, there is a Flickr collection called “The Awesome Leftovers” where I put the daily shots (if any) that didn’t make the cut.

I live above this place called the Vudu Lounge. It is a bit rough around the edges for the Upper East Side, but that’s fine as it gives this part of the hood some character. Reminds me of my Harlem days, nothing wrong with that. Almost ever Friday and Saturday night around 4AM some crazy, drunken fights break out. Big girls in Pink spaghetti strap dresses, snapping that strap while swinging at some dime whose lost one of her pumps high kicking some girl looking at her man earlier that night. Boys swinging at each other who do not have any clue how to fight. People stumbling into First Avenue, cars honking, people screaming, laughing, crying, falling, running until finally 6 to 10 police officers arrive to do the job Vudu’s small fleet of security can’t seem to do. That’s why cops have guns I suppose.

This last Friday there was a few epic fights and so the cops show up to bust things up. While people were trying to figure up from down I noticed there was this one guy pacing under my window who kept chanting, I’m here to make money man… that’s all…not for all of this not all this.. and on and on…and back and forth. He was ranting to himself in this frantic heightened state. It just so happened that during one of the many fights someone lost one of their new Timberlands. They abandoned it on the sidewalk next to some jackets tossed down in the heat of the moment. This particularly upset man, while still chanting, attempted to throw the boot up on the fire escape next door and missed two times till finally on the third try he threw it up three stories and it stayed. I could feel his mood change right then, even with everything else that must have happened to him that night, this time he did not fail. He got that heavy ass boot up there. He stared at it for another second in silence and walked away.

Today’s picture is proof of his success and how one small accomplishment can change everything.

-Cara

Go here for other shots of boots and such.