Sunday, August 24, 2008

One Slice of Kindness

Today, I spent the afternoon talking to a Pizza Parlor owner in the Triad who is Muslim. We spent several hours talking about the big issues facing the Muslim world and American culture. After covering all the topics and a great bit of learning on my part, I asked the owner what about himself did he care to share for this project. In giving examples, I mentioned community service, to which he responded "Oh, I give away free meals to the homeless all the time." This stopped me in my tracks. Soon I learned that he gave away probably 10 meals on average per day, every day of the year. "I am part of this community" he said, "my faith pushes me to do this." Before I left a single man came in tired and hot and sat in a corner booth. A nod from the owner sent an employee over with the pizza and drink I had just shot to document this practice. It was set in front of the homeless man without a tab but with a slice of human kindness. Watch for this simple but profound "self portrait."

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