This photo was taken out of a moving truck.

Boy playing with a crab, Haiti

The painter Jeanne-Pierre, on the grounds of the Hotel Oloffson, Port-au-Prince. We got to talking, and he was very interested that I was an artist. He reached into his old truck and grabbed some canvases which he began rolling out enthusiastically on his truck's hood. I thought he was bullshitting me with his talk about being a famous artist, but he showed me clippings of his work at galleries in New York and Paris. He clearly wanted to sell me a painting, and I kept telling him I didn't have any money, certainly not enough for one of his beautiful works. He kept insisting, and sold me one for next to nothing. If Sue were not due back any minute to whisk me off to the airport, I might have gone with him to meet a Haitian Voodoo priest; probably best that I didn't. 

Did I mention that Haitians are beautiful? Some people say that all children are beautiful, but it's just not true. However, I never saw an ugly Haitian child. This shot was taken in a classroom that I was marginally disrupting; I would have like to have taken many more photos of these wonderful, inquisitive kids. I've never had kids, and am not sure I ever really wanted kids, but if I could have adopted all of these children right on the spot, I might just have done it. 

I traveled to Haiti in 2003 to visit my sister Sue, who was a missionary there. It was my first time in a "third world country," and it was an eye-opener. As a tourist, I only saw the poverty from a long distance, but it was a shock. What I was most impressed with, however, was the beauty of the Haitian people. They are physically beautiful, and they are usually dressed elegantly. If I may be permitted a generalization, Haitians are a proud people, especially considering what they have lived through. Shortly after my arrival, Sue and I visited a Catholic house that had a view of Port-au-Prince. The better view was of the courtyard, where this boy was sweeping up.