John Wayne
Texas Pawn Shop
Fredricksburg, TX
December 2007
One of the places I stopped on my drive from Austin to Marfa was a sparse pawn shop in Fredricksburg called Texas Pawn. I talked with owner, Jimmy, for a while and asked him why he thought so many people in Texas owned guns. The first explanation he gave was, "To shoot people when they need to, of course," and I forgot all of the subsequent reasons he described.
Jimmy told me that he used to photograph crime scenes for the police department and also shot weddings on the side, something we have in common. He asked me if I ever noticed that no matter how homely a woman might be in the rest of her life, all brides are beautiful on their wedding day. I said yes, in fact, I have noticed that. I guess it is the dress and the effort and the love and the attention. Grooms are like clean guys in suits, unless you really know them, but there is definitely something more vivid and remarkable where brides are concerned.
2 comments:
For some (too many) brides, it is the happiest moment of their lives. Think about that...esp. young brides...and it's sort of sad, a translucent apotheosis and then...forty more years...
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