A while back, I was in the middle of taking scout pictures of an office building lobby when I suddenly noticed something: a security guard staring at me from his booth in the back, arms crossed, clearly not happy with what I was up to.
It happens all the time: management gives me the OK to scout but forgets to notify their lobby staff, and it always turns into a big argument til things get cleared up. Even though the guard was being passive aggressive, I know from experience it’s best to deal with it head on…
So I marched over and, without waiting for him to speak, gave the guard a full, clear explanation of exactly what I was doing and who gave me permission to do so… And he just continued to stare silently, arms crossed, skeptical. For a moment, I felt my temper rise…
Then I looked a bit closer at his face… His unblinking eyes… How still he was…
And then I saw him name tag, and it all became clear…
“Art.”
Note: this was back in 2012, and I’m not sure if ol’ Art is still on duty. But he was popular enough to merit his own NY Times write-up back in 1994!
Originally published 4/30/2012.
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