I submitted this photo as a personal eulogy to Sean and to share a part of him with all of you. I haven't seen Sean since he moved to Ohio back in 1990, so I only know him as a small boy. Among all my memories of him, my most memorable is a phase he went through. He would grab your arm, pinch it, and ask, "Does it hurt? Does it hurt?" (He pronounced 'hurt' in a way that you really had to hear it to appreciate it, the best I can describe is to try and say 'who' and 'it' as a one syllable word) while laughing. I'd reply no, so he'd squeeze harder and say, "Now does it hurt?" No matter how hard he tried, and whether it really hurt or not, I'd always say no, much to his frustration. The only way to get him to stop was to pinch him back and ask if it hurt. He'd scream it did, but ten minutes later he'd be back and trying again. He wasn't a cowboy back then, we were beach bums living in San Diego, so I put the small boy in a grown ups cowboy shirt and hat to represent Sean and had him pinch me while we looked at the horses.
Sean, you are finally gettting the answer you always wanted. I can now say it hurts, it hurts really bad. I love you though, and you'll always be in my heart as well as the hearts of others. I'd like to share a few lines from the Counting Crows song 'Goodnight Elizabeth' with you.
I hope that you're okay,
I hope your resting quietly,
I just wanted to say...
...we couldn't all be cowboys,
some of us are clowns...
Except you Sean, you were both.
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Now that I am done drying the tears from the corners of my eyes.... I will say that I am glad I stumbled across this one! The story is what makes this photo, its very moving and what brings this picture to life. Thanks for sharing something so special and heartfelt!
This is a good photo and a fitting tribute to his memory for you and now us at DPC. I am glad that you shared a bit of who he was outside of what we knew here from his photography. This photo is really good, I scored it at 7. I liked the image of the farm with the child and adult looking at the horses, it brings back memories of my youth as a lover of horses. Please continue in your photography with us here.
Yes, I was sure there had to be a backstory here too, glad I came back for another look! :-) Incredible that you knew Sean that well and yes Sean it does hurt to see you gone.
As with Citadel, I too am so glad I re-visited this photo, as I felt there was a back-story. Thank you so much for sharing.
I hope you stay around DPC - you have a good eye for composition, and an ability to articulate a narrative.
Does what hurt? Looks like the child is pinching the adults forearm. It's a nice rustic scene, and certainly an authentic place to find a cowboy. Bit hazy in the background and some detail is lost in the sky (looks like there's some decent clouds there).
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