I had lunch at the Round House Cafe today with George Forss and his lover, the artist Donna Wynbrandt. George is finishing up his Kickstarter Project, a collection of his brilliant photographs called “The Way We Were,” (I am happy to be working on the introduction) and Donna has begun work on a new book about the life of the writer Virginia Wolff.

I had a cup of vegetarian chili and the egg sandwich with tomato and avocado (and egg, of course) and George had the BLT w/avocado, which he said was the best BLT he had ever had in his life. I had a ginger cookie, as well. I was surprised to learn that George is, like me, an impassioned and lifelong follower of the revolutionary writer and philosopher, Tom Paine, the author of the pamphlet “Common Sense,” which became the country’s first best seller and helped spark the American Revolution.

Paine has always inspired me, I think of him often when i write about the New York Carriage Horses, he would have been right alongside the drivers, fighting the gross injustice being done to them by politicians, millionaires, ideologues and real estate developers. Paine would have been chewing up some streets in protest by now, the carriage drivers are not revolutionaries by nature, at least not yet.

George and I were quoting Paine’s famous words back and forth to one another, and talking about his life, which had a sad and lonely end. Paine was a visceral outsider, and this, I suppose is part of the great connection and love George and I have for one another. George, for those of you who do not know, is one of the most famous photographers in the world, he is a genius of composition, of mastering the technics of both the camera and the darkroom. You can follow him on his very eclectic blog.

George had a rugged life, most of his early years were spent in welfare homes and orphanages, his mother was physically and mentally ill. He and Donna have a great and eternal love, their devotion to one another is always inspiring and moving. George will be at the second Bedlam Farm Open House on Columbus Day weekend, he will be doing portraits. Maria will be selling her art, I will be showing off Red and the sheep and conducting donkey tours. It will be more of a celebration than I thought, I think I may be able to lift things by then, but perhaps not yet able to hug. I am not that big of a hugger anyway.

I love my regular encounters with George, we talk on the phone almost every morning and stay in touch. I brought him a paper dragon from New York City and he put it on his flat screen TV. We talked about our hearts – he has congestive heart failure, and he explained that he has his own philosophy about doctors. He just doesn’t ever listen to them. He said he only listens to the aliens when it comes to his health, and they have done well by him, they are wise and vigilant.

I was very happy to learn that George loves Tom Paine as much as I do, I have a bunch of great books to bring him.