There is a big old weathered brick building right in the middle of Brattleboro, Vt., it is called the “People’s Apartment, and it is true to its word. Over a number of visits to Brattleboro, Vt., a town Maria and I both love – the land of the free spirits and warm people – I have often walked by the People’s Apartment.
Every time there is a young woman with a dog on a leash, this dog is named Sport. She was nice, polite and had a wonderful smile.
The people sitting on the steps of the People’s Apartment are sometimes male, sometimes female, almost always young.
They are almost always penniless, or say they are, and in search of a few dollars, which I often give them in exchange for a photograph. They are quite low-key and often look a little abashed.
Sport, like Red, knows what he is about, and comes up for a hug and manages to look but cute and needy at the same time.
It is easy enough to say, well, a healthy young person like this could surely find some work, and I imagine that is true, but Brattleboro attracts young kids in search of a new life, and I am always drawn to give them help getting a good meal or paying the rent in the People’s Apartment.
Sport deserves something as well. I have a half-dozen photos from the People’s Apartment, and it is a place I always go now with my camera. Dogs do all kinds of work, and I respect all of them.
Brattleboro is a city where there are no box stores or franchises, the streets are always full of people I just ache to photograph.
