Encounters "on the street" with A Legend/Gentleman - RIP Mr. Bill Cunningham

I have known the "on the street" column as long as I have been aware of the New York Times, in other words, many, many years.  Sightings of him always makes my day.  

This morning, however, I won the jackpot.  I was the beneficiary of his gentlemanly and kind manners.

As I was about to cross the street and he was about to make the turn, we both stopped to let the other go.  I was startled by the sight of him, HIM.  Only a few people were out at this hour.  

I: I am almost sure I said, "good  morning, after you."  

He: I think he did not say anything, just gestured the same thing.  "After you."

Me: "Thank you."  I crossed the street, then watched him continue on his bike, make a turn into Broadway, then a turn into 57th street. 

Honestly, I had no idea what he looked like until a few years ago when a friend pointed him out at the Easter Parade.  I asked if I could take a photo of him.  He agreed.  I asked him if I could take another one.   He said, he was at work and seemed a bit annoyed.  True, that was a bit demanding of me, considering we were surrounded by festive Easter costumes he was going to photograph. 

So from then on, I started seeing him in the neighborhood. Regal (formerly R) often is the one who spots him first.  

And then last year he suffered a leg injury. I found myself saying hi to him and blurted out, "I hope the healing is going well."  He nodded. We had almost head butted.  It was one of these encounters when you turn around and all of a sudden you are face to face with another person so you say something, anything.  He is a man who moves about very quietly, I have noticed.

So now he has become a irregular regular fixture; I have snapped many photos of him on or with his bike wearing a blue jacket usually from behind* and unnoticed by him.  He never wears a helmet.  

Once he had just gotten off his bike on 6th Avenue and was about to start snapping away at a bicycle event last year. Ah, yes, it may have been his first snap that day - and we were there (ok, I actually have a video of him getting ready waiting for that first photo to appear; and here is a photo I took of him that day; https://instagram.com/p/2OogeOIfEN/)

And we discovered him meandering between the Summer Night Swing dancers at Lincoln Center.  

It's such a treat to see the man in blue, at work.  What does that all have to do with wellness, you might ask? 

Well, you have another moment?  I love seeing him; it makes me happy.  He is such an inspiration.  I can not believe he is 89.   He rides his bike, and sometimes works "while" riding his bike, one hand on the handlebar, camera in the other hand.  It is also time to watch the documentary.  Looking forward to the next encounter, Mr. BC.
  
There unfortunately was not another encounter.  
RIP, Bill Cunningham, Mr. Bill Cunningham.
The streets of New York City have become less mysterious with your passing.  Mr. Cunningham passed away on June 25, 2016.

Here is a Humans of New York post devoted to Mr. Cunningham.

* ha - and I will never feel guilty again about being a BC paparazzi after seeing this onWikipedia: "His editor, Arthur Gelb, has called these photographs "a turning point for the 
Times, because it was the first time the paper had run pictures of well-known people without getting their permission.")^[3]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_(American_photographer)