Robert P Baxter's photostream

I was walking to tango class today when I inadvertently found myself featuring on the Zac Holley Show. As I was exiting the main gates of campus today, I ran into a Zac Holley and his bovine cameraman in the process of spooking some poor dog who had never seen such the likes before. I dropped my bag and grabbed my camera from its case as quickly as possible but I missed out on the moment. As I snapped this photo, I caught the duo's attention and they came over to greet me.

In today's episode, Zac Holley and his bovine friend Bo Stillions are out on an adventure in search of Joe's Apartment, referring to the movie in which a man's apartment is overrun with cockroaches. He explained how his show is something in the way of the adventures of Tom Green and seemed to make for a great addition for the show as I was being videotaped the whole while. Zac's friend also seemed to be a potential spokescow for Chic-Filla as he reminded me to eat more chicken. I unfortunately didn't have the time to stay and chat with this interesting duo as I had to get to class, but today's entry still shares it's own unique touch. It will be the first time that my stranger will have captured me in their own unique project. I can't wait to see the latest show.

Eat more chicken!

This picture is #72 in my 100 strangers project, started on February 14th, 2009. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com

Instincts struck again today as I noticed a particularly pleasant young woman come in to the café where I was studying and sit down at a nearby table waiting patiently with excellent posture and a welcoming demeanor. I sprung at the chance to meet another stranger and was pleasantly surprised to meet Been.

Been was actually waiting for an interview when I sprang into action. Once the interview with a couple was over, I found out that she was actually interviewing as a potential doula for the couple. A doula was a foreign concept to me so the entire conversation that ensued was an educational session for me.

A doula is a labor companion / birth assistant to women who are in the process of giving birth. They assist to any and all needs of the mother other than medical needs. They can hold their hand, rub their back, offer supporting words; whatever is needed. Only a few days before Been had actually attended a child birth and today she bore her birth dress, hand crafted and fitted for her, since she just got out of a class about dance and birth. I found the concept rather unusual (especially trying to imagine a pregnant woman within my own dance of tango) although as the sample of tango came out, I found out that the posture of tango would actually be very relaxing. Apparently the forward posture of tango actually relieves pain for a pregnant woman.

Been discovered her calling as a doula while present at her niece's birth a couple of years ago. Little did she realize but her intuitive attempts at helping in the process of childbirth were actually those of the role of a doula she discovered later. I asked her if it was her profession and although the word "profession" sounded too strong for her, we compromised on an understanding more like an amateur, although it is without a doubt her passion.

Ironically Been dreams of taking her calling on the road and being a traveling duola; adding a holistic approach to the process. She would either stay in the same city as the expecting family or even in the same house, assisting in any household tasks or assisting the mother. The first thought that came to mind for me was that of Mary Poppins, yet although Been had never seen the movie, the allusion was of great amusement. At one point in the past she had featured in a photo with an umbrella in such an airborne fashion although the photo was lost into the past. What a pity.

In any case, I learned a wonderful lesson about something I never knew existed. In the end, Been's interview went well but although she has self-interests in obtaining the position as a doula, she recognizes compatibility as the most important factor for an expecting couple. I wish her luck.

This picture is #71 in my 100 strangers project, started on February 14th, 2009. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com

At home for the holidays in the little town of Minot, North Dakota, I figured it was a great time to look for a variety of new strangers. I was out running some errands and doing some shopping so I decided to sit down in the central plaza of the local shopping center and wait for someone to catch my mind. A half hour passed as random people bustled about with their shopping, conversed with friends or generally ignored the rest of the world, but then a man sat down next to me who seemed to have the potential to be an interesting stranger. It's surprising how well my instincts work out sometimes.

Bill just so happens to be the mayor of the little town of Coleharbor, North Dakota. Bill is also a farmer for life. He grows wheat, durham, peas and sunflowers as well as raises beef cattle. He loves the lifestyle and wouldn't ever change. He and his family were in town for Christmas shopping and since he was in no hurry to go anywhere, he was happy to appease my request for something interesting about him.

I opted to ask Bill for some of the more interesting stories of his life and farming to which he at first had no ideas. After a moment of pondering Bill started off about how life as a little kid on the farm still holds a part of the present. As a child of 8, Bill was too small to pick rocks back in a time before rock picking machinery had developed so his father hired a pack of high school students and put him on the tractor. There he would stand barking out orders. The high school students resented him but couldn't do anything because he was boss' son. Although they would acknowledge his presence when the father was around, they would just stand around and goof off the moment he left, ignoring Bill's command. At times, they would put their feet in front of the tractor and see how long they could remain there before pulling them away. Then one time one of boys let the tractor run over the tip of his foot (although not actually letting it run over his toes) so Bill decided to park the tractor on top of his foot. Needless to say, the hired hand wasn't happy with that. When they finally rolled the tractor off his foot, he came tearing after Bill and if it weren't for one of the permanent employees, not even being the boss' son would have saved him.

Coleharbor is such a small town that Bill still lives amongst those very same people who remember the little 8 year old that bossed them around from the tractor. Ironically though, these same people have kept him in the mayor's seat from year to year. Bill was also well educated in the ways of sex long before he had any working knowledge of the matter as well because of those days.

Right around the time that the story of the rock picking years came to a close, Bill's wife and daughter showed up to announce their next stop and inquire about my interview. Before departing, they suggested he bring up the topic of Grammy; an excellent topic according to Bill. Grammy is Bill's still-living grandmother of 96 years and a source of much amusement in hindsight. Grammy was well known around the community and worked for the US Census Board until 91 years of age with much success since nobody would say no or kick an old lady out of their house.

Grammy also had a propensity to be a terrible driver. She was quite often pulled over for speeding. Once when Bill was young, they were pulled over during a food delivery; an cause of great irritation to Grammy. Not only was she belligerent with the highway patrol officer, she rolled up the window with the officer's hand still inside and proceeded to drive away with him in tow. The poor officer was stuck running along with the vehicle knocking on the window trying to get her to stop. Ironically enough, he still let her go, given that she had her grand kids in the car with her.

Grammy's bad nature while driving went so far as hit and runs. On multiple occasions she would try to drive away from an accident. Once she tried to pull away even though her car was snagged to the other and the driver was standing there staring at her. Another time five years ago she caught the tail end of a semi and although she only popped a couple of the trailer's tires, she tore off the front end of her car and still drove away. Everyone in town knew Grammy so of course they knew what had happened yet as the police went searching for a witness, nobody would testify against her. Soon enough, Bill started receiving phone calls of people saying "they're looking for Grammy again". Ironically all they really needed to do was go find the license plate still attached to the bumper lying at the accident site. The incident led to the authorities taking the driver's license from a 91-year old woman but somehow they gave it right back to her three months later. It's no wonder that Bill's family kept her on a very high risk insurance policy.

This picture is #70 in my 100 strangers project, started on February 14th, 2009. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com

Today's entry comes from an airport as was flying home to my little home town in North Dakota. It had been a very pleasant and uneventful trip compared to many years past and it had occurred to me to find a stranger during my layovers in the airport.

I was wandering the hallways of the Minneapolis International Airport in search of a face who didn't appear in any sort of a hurry. Ironically, if a person wasn't in a terrible rush, racing down the concourse, they looked absolutely bored to tears. I was all too indecisive as I wandered around as nobody seemed to draw my attention, but then I noticed a girl sitting on the floor of a hallway. In a passing glance, she looked tired and worn. I didn't feel at the time like bothering her, but as I continued to wander around, nobody caught my eye either. As I passed back, another traveler had stopped to talk to her, noticing that she had already been around the airport for a while, which prompted the girl to mention how she had missed her flight. I waited for the other traveler to move on about his business and then approached her to ask her story.

As it turns out, Lina was traveling by herself for the first time and had missed her flight that morning. She was asleep and woke up to two gates simultaneously in final boarding. By time she had sorted out what was happening, it was already too late and her flight was departing. A similar case had happened once and they managed to re-open the plane doors to let her in, but this time she wasn't so fortunate. Her flight was at 9am so when I found her at nearly 8pm and she still had two hours until the next flight. She had spent the entire day either sleeping or walking back and forth in the airport an innumerable number of times. It wasn't a surprise to find her in such an unpleasant state then.

Lina is of Russian descent and comes from the little town of Ft. St. John in British Columbia. Her flight was scheduled to take her to Edmonton, Alberta, but her return home still required an eight hour bus ride after that. Her journey started from Greensville, South Carolina where she attended a friend's wedding. She is no stranger to the cold, as right before she departed for SC it was nearly -50 actual temperature. That very same wave of cold weather eventually moved across the continent and caused 10 degrees with negative wind chills in Indiana, causing incessant complaints. I would have loved to see them survive up north.

I had originally assumed Lina to be a college student, yet she only turns 18 in a month. She confessed to having dropped out of school and going to work, but decided to resume and is working on a GED. She works at a restaurant owned by a Ukrainian family which serves different types of international food on a weekly basis. It is a new restaurant, she has worked with them for half a year and she enjoys working with them.

After some time and conversation, I asked Lina what she thought about letting me take her photo. She was originally very hesitant to the idea having spent the day sleeping and wandering the airport, but I offered her my iPod to see the photos from the rest of the project. She asked if I remembered everyone and I demonstrated so by offering a comment about all of the strangers as she browsed through the gallery. After that she finally conceded to a photo provided I point out the reason for her tired state, but I think the image came out rather well.

Have a safe trip home Lina.

This picture is #69 in my 100 strangers project, started on February 14th, 2009. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com

Much time has passed without discovering any unique opportunities for my 100 Strangers Project, but today was my lucky day. As I was just sitting down with my coffee, I noticed a couple of young women in dress uniform. There's indeed something about the striking posture and dignity of a uniform, that indeed is true. Not to let the opportunity pass me by, I sprung out of my chair and asked them for a photo.

Ashley and Logan are Air Force ROTC cadets in uniform for a change in command. I guess I may probably have never noticed them if not for this event, but it is a pleasure that I did. They are two very friendly and cheerful sisters from a tiny farm town in Indiana. They do not share any particularly long lineage to the military as I do (every generation of my family has multiple members of the military), but they amongst their siblings have made a very strong showing. Ashley and Logan as well as an elder sibling are all Air Force and have another elder sibling in the Marine Corps.

Although they prefaced their reasons for joining the Air Force ROTC with scholarships to help them through school, Logan pointed out that for as catchy as it may sound, they really joined because they loved their country. For as much as their country has given them, they feel the honor of giving back in return. I hold every bit of respect for their perspective having grown up in an Air Force family myself.

Ashley, a second year college student, aspires to be an aero-evac nurse while her younger sister Logan, a first-year, wants to work with alternative energy in the military. When I asked her what kind of work was entailed in such an interesting field, she laughed and said that she really didn't know yet. If that fails, she could always jump out of planes as she loves to skydive. I sure hope that's not her only reason though. My uncle was lost a full inch of height in the Airborne over the course of his career performing "controlled crash landings" as he put it.

Either way, both Cadet Doyle and the other Cadet Doyle made for a great pair of strangers today. How ironic would it be that later in life I myself would end up a sucker for a couple of girls in uniform.

This picture is #68 in my 100 strangers project, started on February 14th, 2009. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com