A Man Called Spade
I did not know Spade well...
not sure if we stood in the same room at the same time back in the day
Spade was not on my radar
well... not on my radar until he lived next door to me in Mount Pleasant
years ago I lived on the 200 Block of Park Road in Mount Pleasant
as neighbors Spade and I shared pleasant exchanges on the sidewalk
in these exchanges I received insight into Spades plight
Spade as at peace
in our encounters I learned of Spades waining health
Spade had diabetes and was getting dialysis
Spade knew he was on borrowed time
in our exchanges Spade did not complain
he knew that his "time" was coming
as said... he was at peace with this reality
Spade was a "dead man walking"
I knew\know very little of Spades past...
all I knew was there was this man who lived next door to me
he dressed in a very original way
always dressed "to the nines"
almost always in ALL BLACK
black hat with a wide brim...
black ripped jeans...
black t-shirt...
and
a long black trench coat
in Spade's diminutive Mount Pleasant front yard Spade would build these small found art sculptures
the sculptures would grow and change
morph from one direction to another
later after Spade's death I learned that he was a major player in the DC Music scene
more specifically...
Spade worked at DC Space
SPACE WAS THE PLACE
sort of an alternate answer to the OLD 9:30 Club
9:30 F Street in the Atlantic building
while DC Space was around the corner
DC Space was 7th and E Street NW
then there was a time when at work at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
I was installing some software for a Staff Photographer at SI
somehow... Spade came up
both the photographer and his administrative assistants knew Spade well
it intrigued me to get more details about this stranger's past life
on Facebook I often hear chatter about Spade
apparently he was a character
just one of the characters that made this counter culture so colorful
these photos give a sense of the person that answered to the name Spade
he died too soon...
but he lived life on his own terms
Spade was at peace with how some of his choices took him down this path
I admired his chill sense of being
RIP Spade!
((not my photos... I regret not doing a portrait photoshoot with Spade before he passed... I did not... there is no going back))
