Makin’ Friends

So what does a guy like me with no friends do? He goes out and makes them. I of course can’t do this the conventional way. I have to walk up, ask to take there picture and start in on some conversation.

Today, my new buddy is Dennis a homeless Russian guy who is an actor. I went to do laundry at the local mat and saw him sitting against the wall outside. I thought he had a good look to him so I asked if I could take his picture. He asked why and I did my regular lie of how I’m in a photography class and I’m taking pictures as an assignment. He asked for my teachers name and I responded with a Mrs. Samson. No idea where the name came from, though I did ponder saying Samsonite originally. I shortened it for brevity sake.

So I snap a couple photos, give him the money and he asks if he can have copies. That’s when he launches into his story of being an actor and he needs headshots. Hmmm, well I can go home real quick and print a few out. He’s tickled pink about the idea. He goes to buy a bottle of vodka with the cash I gave him and I go home to print out the pictures. Now, It did strike me as very cliché that he was a Russian who went to buy vodka, but when in Moscow…

So I print out the pictures, come back and he’s watching my laundry spin around in the dryer to make sure no one decided to walk off with it. Very generous of him. I’ve got about twenty minutes until the dryer finishes so we sit outside and he talks to me about studying method acting, reading Stanislavski and such.

He then started asking me about music and what I liked. I mentioned a couple songs after thinking about it for a bit and he launches into his love of Nirvana and how incredible Kurt Cobain was. He’s bringing up all of this stuff about the CIA writing Cobain’s songs and asked which one was my favorite.

Me: I really liked the entire Nevermind album.

Him: I liked that song Lithium. Want to hear it?

Me: Yeah, sure.

He then starts playing all of the instruments with his mouth and sings the entire song to me.

Him: Good, yes?

Me: Not bad.

Him: Who do you think his influences were?

Me: I know he liked Lead Belly.

Him: Who?

Me: This old blues guitarist. Nirvana covered one of his songs on MTV Unplugged.

Him: Which one?

Me: My Girl, or Where Did You Sleep Last Night. I forget which one is the title.

Him: This song I know. Want to hear it?

Me: Sure.

So he sings the entire song. He falters a couple times, hums a bit to himself while the gears in his head turned until they came to him, but he sang the whole thing.

When it was over he decided to move on to the works of Pink Floyd and started performing Comfortably Numb. It’s not often a Russian transient sings to you, so I was digging it for a while. When my laundry was done, I politely excused myself, we shook hands, he thanked me for the photos and said it might help him get an agent. I wished Dennis the best of luck with his career and said this town can be tough, as if he didn’t already know that.

Him: Next time, we sing Zeppelin. You know any Led Zeppelin?

Me: Not really. But I’ll study up on them.

Him: Good. Next time we sing Zeppelin.

I'll have to figure out why I don't mind hanging out and chatting with homeless people, but I find it hard to talk to other people. Very odd.

Pictures of Dennis can be found here in the On The Street collection