Ella
I was exchanging tickets at the concert hall box office in downtown Toronto and she was at the next wicket buying a ticket to an upcoming pop music concert. I overheard the woman serving her explain how to use the touch screen credit card terminal and she was saying “Good Lord. Can they make this any more complicated? I’ll never understand all these gadgets.” I could tell her quip was in good humor. After completing my purchase for a National Geographic photography presentation I exited Roy Thompson Hall and saw that she was standing outside wearing gold reflecting cracked sunglasses that looked like bug-eyes and sorting through her purse (probably getting her credit card back in place). Intrigued by her unique style of dress, I stopped to comment on modern technology, explaining that I had been at the next window as she struggled with the credit card device. She laughed and said “Isn’t that something? How do they expect an old woman like me to understand all these darned gadgets?” I commiserated and we proceeded to chat. Sensing that she would make a great subject for my Human Family project, I explained it to her and introduced myself. Meet Ella.
Ella was surprised at my request and warned me that my camera would not survive an encounter with her. I assured it that it would and showed her my contact card. “Sure, if you really want to” was her reply “but I don’t know why you’d want to photograph an old woman like me.” I explained she had a certain style and personality I wanted to capture. “When you say ‘old woman,’ just how old are you?” She said “I’m 93.” I saluted her and congratulated her on doing so well. Her response was “I was the only girl in my family and I was the skinniest, but I’ve outlived all of them.” I commented that slimness has been shown to contribute to longevity and maybe she’s the proof. She said “When I was younger they used to say I looked like a boy. I would tell them I can’t help it. You’ve got to take what you’re given!”
I took the photographs, using as a background the framed posters on the street corner which listed upcoming concert hall events. I also wanted a full length photo showing her decorated cane. We proceeded to chat. Ella was born and raised in a town adjoining Toronto which has since become part of Toronto due to amalgamation. When I asked what she had done in life she said she had been married for two years when her husband was killed in France in World War 2. They had no children and she did not remarry. “I did factory work most of my life” she said, adding with a mischievous smile “I was too stupid for school but I was a good, hard worker.” During the war she helped manufacture rifles for the army and after the war she manufactured bulbs for street lights. “They don’t use that kind of bulb anymore so that job is gone.”
I asked how her friends would describe her and she said “The ones that are still alive call me crazy.” I suggested they probably meant she was delightfully eccentric. “Well, I hope that’s what they mean” she said. She explained she lives in a seniors building not far from where I live. “One of the teens in the neighborhood said I was ‘Awesome.’ Can you imagine that? Me, 93 and awesome?” I said I really could. She loves music and said she goes to pop concerts. “I love the music from the 1940s. Not that crazy noise they call music now.” We compared notes and we both enjoy blues but her biggest pleasure is big band music.
When I commented on how much she still gets around she said “I’ve always been active. I’m slower but I can still get there. Back in my day we walked a lot and I still do. Back then you either walked or you stayed at home and I didn’t like staying at home.”
I was pretty certain she didn’t have email but asked anyway. “Oh heavens no” she replied. “It’s all I can do to figure out the phone any more – and I only manage that on a good day!” Ella was a delight to talk to and she gave me the impression my interest in her had made her day. Her cleverness, sense of humor, and glimpse into the past certainly brightened my day.
Thank you Ella for taking the time to chat and for participating in my Human Family project on Flickr. Stay active and keep on enjoying concerts.
This is my 220th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Ella
I was exchanging tickets at the concert hall box office in downtown Toronto and she was at the next wicket buying a ticket to an upcoming pop music concert. I overheard the woman serving her explain how to use the touch screen credit card terminal and she was saying “Good Lord. Can they make this any more complicated? I’ll never understand all these gadgets.” I could tell her quip was in good humor. After completing my purchase for a National Geographic photography presentation I exited Roy Thompson Hall and saw that she was standing outside wearing gold reflecting cracked sunglasses that looked like bug-eyes and sorting through her purse (probably getting her credit card back in place). Intrigued by her unique style of dress, I stopped to comment on modern technology, explaining that I had been at the next window as she struggled with the credit card device. She laughed and said “Isn’t that something? How do they expect an old woman like me to understand all these darned gadgets?” I commiserated and we proceeded to chat. Sensing that she would make a great subject for my Human Family project, I explained it to her and introduced myself. Meet Ella.
Ella was surprised at my request and warned me that my camera would not survive an encounter with her. I assured it that it would and showed her my contact card. “Sure, if you really want to” was her reply “but I don’t know why you’d want to photograph an old woman like me.” I explained she had a certain style and personality I wanted to capture. “When you say ‘old woman,’ just how old are you?” She said “I’m 93.” I saluted her and congratulated her on doing so well. Her response was “I was the only girl in my family and I was the skinniest, but I’ve outlived all of them.” I commented that slimness has been shown to contribute to longevity and maybe she’s the proof. She said “When I was younger they used to say I looked like a boy. I would tell them I can’t help it. You’ve got to take what you’re given!”
I took the photographs, using as a background the framed posters on the street corner which listed upcoming concert hall events. I also wanted a full length photo showing her decorated cane. We proceeded to chat. Ella was born and raised in a town adjoining Toronto which has since become part of Toronto due to amalgamation. When I asked what she had done in life she said she had been married for two years when her husband was killed in France in World War 2. They had no children and she did not remarry. “I did factory work most of my life” she said, adding with a mischievous smile “I was too stupid for school but I was a good, hard worker.” During the war she helped manufacture rifles for the army and after the war she manufactured bulbs for street lights. “They don’t use that kind of bulb anymore so that job is gone.”
I asked how her friends would describe her and she said “The ones that are still alive call me crazy.” I suggested they probably meant she was delightfully eccentric. “Well, I hope that’s what they mean” she said. She explained she lives in a seniors building not far from where I live. “One of the teens in the neighborhood said I was ‘Awesome.’ Can you imagine that? Me, 93 and awesome?” I said I really could. She loves music and said she goes to pop concerts. “I love the music from the 1940s. Not that crazy noise they call music now.” We compared notes and we both enjoy blues but her biggest pleasure is big band music.
When I commented on how much she still gets around she said “I’ve always been active. I’m slower but I can still get there. Back in my day we walked a lot and I still do. Back then you either walked or you stayed at home and I didn’t like staying at home.”
I was pretty certain she didn’t have email but asked anyway. “Oh heavens no” she replied. “It’s all I can do to figure out the phone any more – and I only manage that on a good day!” Ella was a delight to talk to and she gave me the impression my interest in her had made her day. Her cleverness, sense of humor, and glimpse into the past certainly brightened my day.
Thank you Ella for taking the time to chat and for participating in my Human Family project on Flickr. Stay active and keep on enjoying concerts.
This is my 220th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.