Though I must have passed through Dupont Circle a few times since, until
25 March 2007, I had not engaged in my ritual photo walk through
Dupont Circle since
06 January Thaw photo project.
Party due to the cold weather and the fact that I recently spent some time in
South Florida but, primarily, because I don't like the way that I am discriminated against and mistreated in Dupont Circle, as a 53 year old black male. As was the case on
06 January 2007 when a white guy that I've known for many years approached me about drugs. In the same way thjat he has always appraoched me, not only in Dupont Circle, but at bars as well ... almost demanding that I fetch him drugs.
I left Dupont Circle on that afternoon, mad as hell, because that white man knew exactly what he was doing, when in the midst of my Dupont Circle Photo Walk that he almost demaded that I contact a white friend and former catering associate to see if it was ok for him to drop by to pick up some pot.
And when I explained that I no longer associate with caterers of the past who also discrminated against me in the exact same ways as he has done, he said
"I thought you told me that you had another close friend who deals pot." Reminding him, AGAIN, that I do not smoke pot and while it is very true that I do know several people who deal pot, since they and I are not as close as we once were I, as a black man, did not feel comfortable contacting them pertaining to such matters. Since they, all who are white, practice the exact same discrimination against me as does he.
Once home, I was so God Damn mad that I vowed
"If that white man ever, again, asks me about drugs, in Dupont Circle or in any bar, I swear before my God I'm gonna go upside his white head with my black fist!"While the
following weekend I did walk around Dupont Circle from the
Dupont Circle South WMATA Station to P Street at Dupont Circle East I made a point to not walk through Dupont Circle ... until
recently.
When taking taking pictures at the
Tidal Basin on
Sunday, 01 April 2007 of the
2007 Cherry Blossom Festival both my cameras began to malfunction in the exact way at the exact same time. I returned home, mad as hell, remembering similarly scenarios in years past.
Not to be deterred on
Monday I continued with my
2007 National Cherry Blossom Festival Project by visiting the
Cultural Stage at the Jefferson Memorial. My purpose, in the process, was to test the cameras to see if they worked properly.
The older
Rebel EOS did not function at all while the newer
Rebel XT opererated fairly well. Or, so I thought. However, once home, many of the pictures did not come out and several could not be transferred from the cf card to my computer and quite a few could not be opened.
On
Tuesday evening I strolled through
Dupont Circle for the 3rd or 4th time in two weeks to test out the
Rebel XT before deciding what steps to take for repair and/or replacement. As I entered Dupont Circle from the south side, and not unlike a flashback, my
Easter, Over the Years (2005) project came to mind.
It was then that I remembered that
flashbacks often occur when I walk through or reflect on
my experiences in Dupont Circle.
After taking a series of photos when I saw
Larry I did something that I seldom do. Though I always made a point to spend a few moments with
Arnold Selvala before his
February 2005 passing.
Larry, an antique dealer and collector, who I have observed for many years is a frequent visitor to Dupont Circle. In
September 2005 he mentioned that he would soon be selling his old apartment building and moving to a smaller place. It was actually just a few days after I had purchased my
first digital camera and he was one of my first Dupont Circle subjects that I'd capture with the new camera.
Some months later when I spoke with him, in Dupont Circle, he said that the move had been made. And that he liked his new place much better than where he had lived before which, if my memories serves me correctly, was a small apartment building that he owned.
On Tuesday evening, 03 April,
Larry asked if I knew of that the summer flea market in Baltimore which is due to open in a week or so. I said that I did not. But, that Baltimore is one of the places that I have plans to explore, photographically.
Though I can not now recall the name of flea market when searching the internet I came across the
STATION NORTH FLEAMARKET that certainly interests me. When I run into Larry, again, perhaps in Dupont Circle, I'll ask if he'd be interested in joining me for a day trip to
Station North Flea Market.
As well as an ongoing subject in my
NAKED TRUTH - ORAL HISTORY Project.
Larry, the Antique Collector, represents the second installment of my
People - Dupont Circle series.
Though Blues, Jazz & R&B guitarist Ronny Charles has been a member at MySpace since September 2005 not only would he extensively update his site at MySpace in January 2007 but he also signed onto ESnips at Ronny Ch in DC.
Though, in recent months, traffic at Dupont Cirlce has been amongst my many photography themes as of 2007, focusing on vehicular and pedestrian traffic scenarios, traffic at Dupont Circle will be a more pronounced aspect of my photography studies. As will Dupont Circle North and Dupont Circle South.
I had not been photographing in Dupont Circle, the way that I do, since Satruday, 11 November 2006. So when visiting Dupont Circle during Saturday's January Thaw my purpose was to get a few photos for the Dupont Circle 2007 Project. But, as often is the case, when I pass through Dupont Circle or visit bars in the area or travel across the nation I would experience "déjà vu" when someone that I've known for years asked me about drugs ... the way that he and many white men have always approached about drugs. 
