Cherished Stares (9.23.22)

PHOTOS AND WORDS
BY Jon Cherry

The alley cafe at Quills Coffee on Baxter Avenue.

Happily taking my leave with a hot whiskey pour lingering on my upper lip, a street corner beckons my gaze. The utility box peppered with layers of paint-marker tags holds my attention for half of a smoke. An intersection with no-walk signs in every direction signaled by big red-lit hands, about the same size as mine. Fourteen, 13, 12.... If the cigarette is a fuse, a timer of sorts, you’ll need to wait three-quarters of one of these if you want to cross this road. But jaywalking is our God- given right. Our world’s most mundane sights have earned my longest, most cherished stares.

Anxiously stepping onto the sidewalk, the wild feeling behind my eyes has made it apparent that I need a break. I don’t know anyone here. I thought I knew everyone. Perhaps, if I stand here long enough, a friend will rescue me with a familiar smile. Maybe I’ll leave. In the meantime, I have found a new home as I open the door for my favorite new stranger. They quickly offer thanks in passing. A cigarette bounces on my lips as I greet them with my squinting, smiling, “You’re so very welcome.”

Maybe it’s you and me this time around. I’ll light up two at once and greedily take a long, hot drag. Or we can share mine, as long as you don’t hog it. Finish this bad boy off once it’s a few puffs from the filter.

I note the irony of stepping out for a breath of fresh air just to be met by whichever funky fuse rests between my middle and forefinger. Would you like one? It’s really no bother.

Welcome home.

Jefferson Square Park, where I documented the 2020 protests.
City Hall as seen from Jefferson Square Park.
City Hall as seen from Jefferson Square Park.
Jefferson Square Park, where I documented the 2020 protests.

Jefferson Square Park, where I documented the 2020 protests.

A crowded hardcore music night at Kaiju on East Oak Street.
A crowded hardcore music night at Kaiju on East Oak Street.
The skate park near the new soccer stadium.
The visitors’ center at the McAlpine Locks and Dam.
The visitors’ center at the McAlpine Locks and Dam.
The view from my home in the Highlands. It’s the first thing I see in the morning.
The view from my home in the Highlands. It’s the first thing I see in the morning.
A pile of firewood at Full Stop (at “the Oak Street Wedge”).
A pile of firewood at Full Stop (at “the Oak Street Wedge”).
The loading dock at Logan Street Market.
The corner of Hepburn and Barret avenues.

The corner of Hepburn and Barret avenues.

Cherokee Park.
Cherokee Park.
530 W. Main St., where I used to park when going to photograph at Jefferson Square Park during the 2020 protests.
Falls of the Ohio State Park.
My secret spot in Cherokee Park.