Last Saturday I met Dexta and his son Daniel. They were on their way home from ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. Dexta was carrying a pretty awesome portrait of Daniel, and though I didn’t ask, I’m assuming sitting for the portrait was probably part of the afternoon’s events as well.
About Dexta: He’s from Jamaica, and has lived in New York for eleven years. His favorite food is akee and codfish (a Jamaican dish) and his favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia. His favorite part of New York is the landscape and the historical buildings. The architectural background of the city fascinates him. The advice he’d like to share with the world: “Express yourself. Use your freedom of speech.” And the thing he wants you to know about himself: “Love is my religion.”
About Daniel: Daniel was born in Canada, but is Jamaican by blood (Dexta wanted to be sure I got that in there!) He told me he’s been in New York “quite a long time.” Dexta told me that "quite a long time" was three years. Daniel’s favorite food is tin beef and rice, and he told me his favorite movie was First Sunday. Dexta noted that this was actually the last movie Daniel had seen. Daniel’s favorite thing about New York is ice-skating at Rockefeller- coincidentally (?), this was also the last thing he’d done. When I asked Daniel what he’d like to share with the world, he wasn’t sure, so I asked him what makes him happy instead. “What makes me happy,” he told me, a little smile starting to light up his intense eyes, “is if somebody’s doin’ bad stuff, and then I can help them do good stuff.”
That, my friends, is good stuff.
About Dexta: He’s from Jamaica, and has lived in New York for eleven years. His favorite food is akee and codfish (a Jamaican dish) and his favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia. His favorite part of New York is the landscape and the historical buildings. The architectural background of the city fascinates him. The advice he’d like to share with the world: “Express yourself. Use your freedom of speech.” And the thing he wants you to know about himself: “Love is my religion.”
About Daniel: Daniel was born in Canada, but is Jamaican by blood (Dexta wanted to be sure I got that in there!) He told me he’s been in New York “quite a long time.” Dexta told me that "quite a long time" was three years. Daniel’s favorite food is tin beef and rice, and he told me his favorite movie was First Sunday. Dexta noted that this was actually the last movie Daniel had seen. Daniel’s favorite thing about New York is ice-skating at Rockefeller- coincidentally (?), this was also the last thing he’d done. When I asked Daniel what he’d like to share with the world, he wasn’t sure, so I asked him what makes him happy instead. “What makes me happy,” he told me, a little smile starting to light up his intense eyes, “is if somebody’s doin’ bad stuff, and then I can help them do good stuff.”
That, my friends, is good stuff.
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