As i had to stop on a red light, 
because i took a different road to go from point A 
hoping to get to point B (je m'en allais au bureau..)
I saw, in the middle of a modern boring small town 
a place i drove in for the first time, 
a little house with a big garden. 

In the big garden were two old men with straw hats. 
The image was very unfamiliar to me 
and in an instant, it took me to a "voyage" in time. 

It was a very hot summer day, those two men were definitely 
quite old, with clothes that could match their age, in a way. 

That was it, no need for more, 
that was the birth of another urge: 
i needed to go talk with them. 

I stopped the car in the shopping centre at the limit 
of their garden, right after the green light. 
With both their heads down, they did 
not even notice i was walking in their garden... 
I aimed towards one of them. 

The old men stopped picking his vegetables 
when he saw two motionless feet just there. 
He raised his head, a bit surprised i must say...lol. 

I said bonjour with a smile, he smiled back and said bonjour. 
Then...started a conversation. 

I asked him if i could take a picture...he smiled, 
i pressed the shutter...and voilà! 

Here are some of the images i made 
that afternoon. I am so glad i stopped. 
The light was difficult in some instances but, 
the essential was my connection with them, 
the images are just to immortalize a magical moment we shared. 

* * * 
So... 
The colour of their skin 
was so dark from being too much in the sun, 
it even looked like thick leather. 
They worked at a slow pace 
in the heat of the summer. 

I learned they were brothers, 
living together and surviving with some difficulties, 
and missing the female touch. 

Yes... No woman in sight. 
Kind of sad in a way. 

Their land seemed like 
a left over of a farm, 
their house needed fixing, 
and in the garage, an old american car 
was collecting dust. 

Their large garden was healthy and very green, 
a daily challenge for their bones and articulations. 

It is not often that people stop by to 
just... say hi and talk to them. 

Smiles from deep inside were easy... 
They were proud and aching, it pinched me inside. 
I felt honoured by their wonderful welcome. 

Then, i discovered...a third brother, 
sitting quietly in their root cellar! 
He had some fingers missing :(. 
I had never seen a root cellar before... 

Yes, i found a little gem in that modern town. 
A small microcosm in time 
where the rythm of life 
is beating at a different pace... 

* * * 

The light was a bit difficult to work with, 
i did not really pay attention
to the technical side of the images...ehm, 
i rarely do.

It is in moments like those that I think I understand and feel the essence of life, true beauty lies in those simple gestures where discreet souls like this stranger who, for a moment, felt so close to my heart, this man never knew life beside the limits of his garden and a Sunday drive in the “family old car” around his neighboughood. I cherish those moments where destiny make me have those close encounters. I feel lucky to be able to conntect to life…this way too.

And his smile ? Priceless...