Street Stories
A collection of stories from the streets of Philadelphia on January 18, 2016. We asked twelve individuals one central question:
"What was the greatest moment of your life?" Photography and Design By Minh MAi, Brianna Spause, Jillian Tam
“The happiest moment of my life? Braiding a twenty-five foot long rope with two cell mates, attaching a hook on the end of it then throwing it over the wall of Montgomery County and escaping. The two other guys were stupid. They stayed in Pennsylvania which got them caught two weeks later. I hid in the woods for a while and was able to hitchhike my way up to Ohio. I wanted to get to California originally. I met my wife, had five kids and worked as a carpenter. I was free for six years. When they found me they dragged me back to Pennsylvania and locked me up for twenty years.”
- Robert “"Bob"”
“The moment my daughter was born. She was born in ’79. I only have two kids, and my son came the year after. I really couldn’t describe it, it’s not a normal feeling. Those were the best moments I’ve had so far.”
- Rudy
“Being around and hanging out with my kindergarten friends is what I enjoy most. Even though one of these guys is in the military right now, we still meet up when we get the chance.”
- Rodney
“Completing my education at Rosmont College.”
- Erin
“I am very excited with the legalization of cracks. I used to be a drug cartel.� - Sam
“The feeling of accomplishment, there’s nothing better than that. Like when I shot a big game of pool for $300. I was playing at a bar in Delco, and the dude just started talking all of this game about him being great at pool. I just started playing him. It started at $10 and went double or nothing until I walked away with $300.”
- Pat
“I was out in Colorado for a bit and did a lot of hiking up there. Probably hiking some of the mountains that were 12 -- 13,000 feet was pretty cool. I kind of like having time and space away from other people. Sometimes you’re with your friends, it’s kind of nice.”
- Steve
“Traveling to Scotland 16 years ago and painting the landscapes.”
- Doug
“I got married in September, 1998. I love my wife and my family, we had two children together.�
- John
“The birth of my son (who’s now 7).”
- Amanda
“I enjoy living. I feel blessed waking up every morning.”
- Victor
After seven years of being best friends with somebody, actually realizing that our feelings were the same for each other. We’ve been engaged for three years. We had been separated for about two years because he went into the military, and I went to school. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other since the day before, not two years before. I was teasing him and said, “If you’re going to kiss me you better do it now because I’m leaving in the morning for school.” It caught him so off guard, but it started everything. He said, “Wait a minute. I’ve been in love with you for seven years. You’re asking me to do what?”
- Candy
“Our happiest moment is being together for a full year, as of yesterday.�
- Pat and Kevin