The old man = Wisdom

He sat there quietly on a bench at the town square. Next to him was a small mosque, and on the other side was the metro and bus station. Right in the center was an old clock tower with drinking fountains, keeping it all together, the modern and the old.

It was a warm day. I had been hitting the pavement for hours and needed a rest. As I sat down next to the old man he looked at me and nodded. It was obvious that I didn’t speak any of his native language and that he spoke no English.

We sat quietly like this for a while, looking at all the people. There were plenty of small boys chasing the pigeons around while the small girls were trying to feed the chased away pigeons. A humorous sight to behold! I began taking pictures of the scenes unfolding in front of us.

The old man was looking at me with interest. His wrinkled face seemed full of wisdom. Too bad we didn’t speak the same language… He pointed to the camera and then to himself. I repeated the motions, pointing to the camera and then pointing at him. He smiled and nodded. If he only knew the struggles I had of getting passed the suspicious attitude of his fellow countrymen!

I got up and shot a few frames of him sitting there on the bench. There is something about elderly people that makes them very photogenic! When I sat down again I let him see his pictures on the camera screen. A big smile spread across his face!