The
Corner of Central and Southern
My
small frame consisted of the intersection at Central and Southern. This
intersection has large amounts of traffic. Semi trucks bellow smoke as
they chug their way through the light. A man on a bike waits patiently
for the light to change. Two girls walk across the street and stop to use
the payphone despite the fact that it’s phone books are missing. Electrical
lines hang dangerously low, almost sitting a top the buildings. As my frame
becomes larger, I can see the stores located on these corners. McDonalds,
Compass Bank, Tune-up Masters, a muffler shop. I also notice the shopping
carts. Four in all, two tipped over, and the other two pushed up against
a pole. Now I see the dumpster next to the bank. It looks as though it’s
been set on fire a couple of times. Now I notice the guy on the other side
of the street selling flowers (it’s a little bit early for Valentines Day).
I watch him for a few minutes, and then my attention is drawn back to the
other side of the street. My group is ready to go. I notice an older man
wearing suspenders; he nods at me as I get up to leave. I could sit and
watch this corner all day if it weren’t for the fact that we must continue
with our research of South Phoenix.
***Shot
/ Reverse Shot- an observation from 2 perspectives***
I
have just eaten a huge Mexican food meal at Los Dos Molinos.My
group and I are walking (well, somewhat walking, after all I did just eat
a lot of food) up Central Avenue, documenting the businesses along the
way.We stop outside of the “American
Child Care Center”; I stop to take a picture and debate about going in.What
kinds of questions will I ask the people inside? “What kinds of people
come in here?”They’ll think I’m
stupid.I linger outside of the center,
standing next to a maroonish red car.Suddenly,
I notice the girl inside peering out at me thru the blinds…
*************
“Rosa,
pick up your things, your sister will be here anytime!” I yell in spanish
to the last little girl of the day.I
can’t wait to go home and sit in silence.I’ve
been surrounded by kids all day!Thank
goodness it’s Friday!I look again
anxiously out the window, watching for Rosa’s sister.Why
are they always so late on Fridays?
***********
“You
guys, that lady in there is staring at me,” I say to the members of my
group.“Let’s just keep going, we
can talk to someone from a different shop.Besides,
I bet this is her car.She probably
thinks we’re going to steal it or something.Come
on, let’s go.”
***********
“?Donde
esta mi hermana?” Rosa asks me patiently.I
tell her that I don’t know where her sister is as I keep peering out the
window. There are lots of people to watch today.People
waiting for the bus, two young boys being chased by a bike… I wonder where
their parents are too, 3 girls, 2 of them white, walking around like they’re
lost.They linger by my car; I doubt
they are dumb enough to do anything to it.Why
are they staring in here? And what’s with the camera? Who in their right
mind walks around and takes pictures of childcare centers? My boss probably
hired them to come spy on me while she’s on vacation.What
a jerk! Well she didn’t do a very good job of picking people.They
stand out like a sore thumb!Someday,
I’m going to quit this job, and then my boss will be sorry!Oh
well, at long last, Rosa’s sister is here! I’m free from the childcare
center for an entire weekend!Nothing
beats Fridays!