Prelude:

My father is a New York Jets fan. Naturally, as an impressionable young child in the early 2000s I adopted his team as my favorite team. In February of 2012, the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. I remember going to a friends house to watch this Super Bowl and I found myself in a room full of Giants fans. Always one to take the opposite side, I rooted for Tom Brady and the Patriots to win. Seeing him lose that game was devastating. Remember when Gisele complained that the wide receivers gave Tom no help after the game? Classic (we love Gisele). It also dawned on me around this time that the New York Jets were an incompetent franchise that did not deserve to have fans. It was a rather enjoyable experience rooting for Tom that day and so I defected. Loyalty be damned! Instead of the New York Jets, I would root for Tom Brady. Four Super Bowl victories later I’m glad I made this decision. From the goal-line interception in 2015, to the 28-3 comeback in 2017, to the anticlimactic 13-3 win against the Rams in 2019, and most recently the magical run with the Bucs in 2021, watching and appreciating Tom has been a treat. My favorite thing is when you ask him what his favorite Super Bowl win is, he’ll reply ‘the next one.’ Results are cool, but it always has been and always will be about the process. Nothing screams process more than answering the above question with ‘the next one.’ And so with the NFL playoffs right around the corner, I’d like to say ‘Let’s Go Bucs!’

Write Up:

I’ll preface this write up by saying this will be my weirdest write up to date. It deals with an experience that hitherto I have never talked about publicly. First, let’s discuss Omar. Omar is an immensely talented photographer and a very kind guy. I’ll share an anecdote below which demonstrates his kindness, but for now let’s observe the image:

February of 2017 was a period many in my field of employ at the time referred to as ‘busy season.’ Essentially, the culture of the job was such that during the time period of January - March, we were expected to stay at work late because allegedly we were busy. Not stay at work till 8 PM late, more like stay at work till 12 AM late. At the time the office I worked at was located in Jersey City, New Jersey. I lived in Manhattan. I left the office around midnight on this night in February of 2017 and rode in a cab to my apartment on East 13th Street in New York. In return for working late, we were allowed to expense a meal. I typically didn’t eat while at the office and would instead go to a grocery store after work to get fruit with my per diem. It was a point in my life where free fruit excited me more than a free meal. I had the cab driver drop me off at my apartment and decided to walk from there to the Westside Market on the corner of East 12th Street and 3rd Avenue to pick up my free fruit. Nothing out of the ordinary. As I made my way east towards 3rd Avenue I noticed a man laying flat on his face on the north side of East 13th Street in between 3rd and 2nd avenue. If you need a visual, I’ll direct you to the photo above taken by Omar as this is pretty much what I saw. I noted to myself that while it looked strange, this was New York and something like someone lying down on their face in the middle of the street is truly not out of the ordinary. I mean friends, I’ve seen a man whip out his cock and piss in broad daylight on a building across the street from Macy’s in Herald Square. Herald Square! One of the most crowded areas in New York! My point being that which could be construed as out of the ordinary in another area is simply par for the course in New York. And so I walked past this man and carried on my merry way to the Westside Market.

I spent roughly 20 minutes picking out my fruit at the Westside Market. When I returned, I was walking back towards 2nd Avenue on the south side of East 13th street. As I neared the middle of the street I noticed an ambulance parked on the north side of the street and an EMT frantically performing CPR on the man I had just 20 minutes earlier passed by thinking nothing was amiss.

I felt weird and I felt callous. But, at the same time I didn’t feel this way. It’s hard to describe. I was tired and cranky from staying at the office all day. My judgement was definitely at that point clouded and I was on a mission to pick up fruit from the market and return home. And like who was that guy? How did he end up lying face down on a street? Was it of his own doing? Does that even matter? I’m glad someone sensed something was awry and reported it, but perhaps that should have been me. As the EMTs clearly had the situation under control, there was really nothing I could do at that point except go back to my apartment and eat my fruit. The experience left me feeling shook. To this day I have no idea what ended up happening to that guy.

This also leads into something I’ve always wanted to write about but never have. I grew up 40 minutes from the city and when I was a child I would take the train into Manhattan often. Years ago, probably at this point 10 years ago, there was a Korean Church that the train would pass by and emblazoned on the face of the church was the line ‘Is it nothing to you all who pass by?’ I believe this is a quote from Scripture. It’s a thought provoking question and whenever the train passed by it, it always made me think. I see so much of life’s questions through the lens of the 'conventionally right’ answer to things. I think the conventionally ‘right’ answer to this question is that I’m supposed to pound a table and declare in unequivocal terms that I care deeply about every single person who I pass by in a given day. I think the actual answer is far more nuanced than that. Take the story above. I passed by a guy who was in danger like it was nothing. Albeit I didn’t know he was in danger, I’d still be hard pressed to argue that I cared about him in that moment. Whenever I thought about this question on the train years ago my answer was always yes. Yes, it is nothing to me all who pass by. How could I ever actually care about every single person who I pass by? It’s not practical. And if I were to ever say I did, I would think it glib.

The conventionally right thing is what kills me here. The conventionally right thing to do in that situation was to help that guy. But how could I help someone who I had no idea was in need of help? I don’t believe in universal rules save for one exception. The only universal rule I believe in is the rule of uncertainty. Everything is uncertain. The experience of seeing the man lying face first that night on East 13th Street confused me deeply. And I’ll have to find peace with that. Writing this piece helps.

Postlude:

When I hosted my first Twitter Space, I had no idea what I was doing. And along these lines, I had no idea that there was a limited number of speakers allowed on a space at a given time. Omar must’ve realized that I was struggling and he sent me this:

Was a very kind thing of him to do and was greatly appreciated.

On Twitter someone left a comment asking Omar to describe the background of this image I collected. This was Omar’s response. It made me smile.

Omar Z. Robles is a talented photographer based in New York, NY.

You can find Omar on Twitter Here

Omar’s work can be found on Foundation, OpenSea, and KnownOrigin.

While you’re here, I host a Twitter Space every Sunday at 2 PM EST with Guido Disalle and Max. If you’re interested in Photography, come join us! We typically feature a handful of speakers and open the floor to the audience to come up and ask questions.

Prelude:

My father is a New York Jets fan. Naturally, as an impressionable young child in the early 2000s I adopted his team as my favorite team. In February of 2012, the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. I remember going to a friends house to watch this Super Bowl and I found myself in a room full of Giants fans. Always one to take the opposite side, I rooted for Tom Brady and the Patriots to win. Seeing him lose that game was devastating. Remember when Gisele complained that the wide receivers gave Tom no help after the game? Classic (we love Gisele). It also dawned on me around this time that the New York Jets were an incompetent franchise that did not deserve to have fans. It was a rather enjoyable experience rooting for Tom that day and so I defected. Loyalty be damned! Instead of the New York Jets, I would root for Tom Brady. Four Super Bowl victories later I’m glad I made this decision. From the goal-line interception in 2015, to the 28-3 comeback in 2017, to the anticlimactic 13-3 win against the Rams in 2019, and most recently the magical run with the Bucs in 2021, watching and appreciating Tom has been a treat. My favorite thing is when you ask him what his favorite Super Bowl win is, he’ll reply ‘the next one.’ Results are cool, but it always has been and always will be about the process. Nothing screams process more than answering the above question with ‘the next one.’ And so with the NFL playoffs right around the corner, I’d like to say ‘Let’s Go Bucs!’

Write Up:

I’ll preface this write up by saying this will be my weirdest write up to date. It deals with an experience that hitherto I have never talked about publicly. First, let’s discuss Omar. Omar is an immensely talented photographer and a very kind guy. I’ll share an anecdote below which demonstrates his kindness, but for now let’s observe the image:

February of 2017 was a period many in my field of employ at the time referred to as ‘busy season.’ Essentially, the culture of the job was such that during the time period of January - March, we were expected to stay at work late because allegedly we were busy. Not stay at work till 8 PM late, more like stay at work till 12 AM late. At the time the office I worked at was located in Jersey City, New Jersey. I lived in Manhattan. I left the office around midnight on this night in February of 2017 and rode in a cab to my apartment on East 13th Street in New York. In return for working late, we were allowed to expense a meal. I typically didn’t eat while at the office and would instead go to a grocery store after work to get fruit with my per diem. It was a point in my life where free fruit excited me more than a free meal. I had the cab driver drop me off at my apartment and decided to walk from there to the Westside Market on the corner of East 12th Street and 3rd Avenue to pick up my free fruit. Nothing out of the ordinary. As I made my way east towards 3rd Avenue I noticed a man laying flat on his face on the north side of East 13th Street in between 3rd and 2nd avenue. If you need a visual, I’ll direct you to the photo above taken by Omar as this is pretty much what I saw. I noted to myself that while it looked strange, this was New York and something like someone lying down on their face in the middle of the street is truly not out of the ordinary. I mean friends, I’ve seen a man whip out his cock and piss in broad daylight on a building across the street from Macy’s in Herald Square. Herald Square! One of the most crowded areas in New York! My point being that which could be construed as out of the ordinary in another area is simply par for the course in New York. And so I walked past this man and carried on my merry way to the Westside Market.

I spent roughly 20 minutes picking out my fruit at the Westside Market. When I returned, I was walking back towards 2nd Avenue on the south side of East 13th street. As I neared the middle of the street I noticed an ambulance parked on the north side of the street and an EMT frantically performing CPR on the man I had just 20 minutes earlier passed by thinking nothing was amiss.

I felt weird and I felt callous. But, at the same time I didn’t feel this way. It’s hard to describe. I was tired and cranky from staying at the office all day. My judgement was definitely at that point clouded and I was on a mission to pick up fruit from the market and return home. And like who was that guy? How did he end up lying face down on a street? Was it of his own doing? Does that even matter? I’m glad someone sensed something was awry and reported it, but perhaps that should have been me. As the EMTs clearly had the situation under control, there was really nothing I could do at that point except go back to my apartment and eat my fruit. The experience left me feeling shook. To this day I have no idea what ended up happening to that guy.

This also leads into something I’ve always wanted to write about but never have. I grew up 40 minutes from the city and when I was a child I would take the train into Manhattan often. Years ago, probably at this point 10 years ago, there was a Korean Church that the train would pass by and emblazoned on the face of the church was the line ‘Is it nothing to you all who pass by?’ I believe this is a quote from Scripture. It’s a thought provoking question and whenever the train passed by it, it always made me think. I see so much of life’s questions through the lens of the 'conventionally right’ answer to things. I think the conventionally ‘right’ answer to this question is that I’m supposed to pound a table and declare in unequivocal terms that I care deeply about every single person who I pass by in a given day. I think the actual answer is far more nuanced than that. Take the story above. I passed by a guy who was in danger like it was nothing. Albeit I didn’t know he was in danger, I’d still be hard pressed to argue that I cared about him in that moment. Whenever I thought about this question on the train years ago my answer was always yes. Yes, it is nothing to me all who pass by. How could I ever actually care about every single person who I pass by? It’s not practical. And if I were to ever say I did, I would think it glib.

The conventionally right thing is what kills me here. The conventionally right thing to do in that situation was to help that guy. But how could I help someone who I had no idea was in need of help? I don’t believe in universal rules save for one exception. The only universal rule I believe in is the rule of uncertainty. Everything is uncertain. The experience of seeing the man lying face first that night on East 13th Street confused me deeply. And I’ll have to find peace with that. Writing this piece helps.

Postlude:

When I hosted my first Twitter Space, I had no idea what I was doing. And along these lines, I had no idea that there was a limited number of speakers allowed on a space at a given time. Omar must’ve realized that I was struggling and he sent me this:

Was a very kind thing of him to do and was greatly appreciated.

On Twitter someone left a comment asking Omar to describe the background of this image I collected. This was Omar’s response. It made me smile.

Omar Z. Robles is a talented photographer based in New York, NY.

You can find Omar on Twitter Here

Omar’s work can be found on Foundation, OpenSea, and KnownOrigin.

While you’re here, I host a Twitter Space every Sunday at 2 PM EST with Guido Disalle and Max. If you’re interested in Photography, come join us! We typically feature a handful of speakers and open the floor to the audience to come up and ask questions.