One reason I started doing my street photography was because of the memories I had growing up as a boy in St John’s and seeing some of the characters on the streets around town. After all these years, I remember them vividly. They were colorful people with unique dress and personalities, and everyone knew their names. Because of this, I decided to capture memories of the people I saw around town as I stumbled through life’s follies.

I’ve photographed “Storman Norman” many times over several years and he was one of my favorites. He always made me laugh. I was to learn he was like that with everyone he came across; he loved to make people laugh. Usually, it was a story or a joke he told in his animated way. Sometimes he would talk about his girlfriend, who had only one tooth. One time, I remember him coming down Water St towards me and he would roundhouse kick every parking meter along the way. He was a real “Character”!

Some people won’t conform to society’s norms and if they tried, it would mean misery for them. I have known many people who have decided to live life the way Norman did. I really don’t know if he struggled with it on the inside. I don’t think he did. At least I never saw it. For some, alcohol is a part of their enjoyment of life. It may be their only enjoyment. Some people live their lives the way they want and not the way others expect them to.

One of my favorite books is “Dersu Uzala”(1923), which was later made into an Akira Kurosawa movie (1975). It’s about a Siberian trapper who was befriended by a Russian army captain who was surveying in the Ussuri region, not far from the Korean and Chinese borders. Towards the end of the story, the captain offers Dersu a place in his home. However, after some time, Dersu finds he can’t live in a box and breaks the news to the captain that he would like to leave and return to the taiga, as he soon does. I see tragedy in all this, but I also find some admiration as well.

RIP Norman!