“Sitting and Watching…”
Thursday, February 25, 2021
I actually feel like I’m “Stuck and Waiting” but I when I thought of that, a Dennis Brown song popped into my head. Thus, the title of this post and my track of the day: “Sitting and Watching.”
A few days ago, I emailed a recognized black photographer. I felt the urge to reach out because I think I need help getting unstuck. But while I’m waiting, I can’t just watch - as nothing happens. I am willing to admit to being stuck but can’t seem to surrender to the waiting.
So I figured I’d finally reach out to TimBatSea. I shared the names of the tugmen in the hopes that he might know at least one of them. If so, I can start working on filling in some of the “blanks” of Chapter Three.
Maybe Lenny and Jan had been similarly stuck. Or maybe they were in the process of setting up interviews.
At some point, I’ll have to decide how much effort I can/should put into adding to what currently exists.
I feel like I completed the easy part and now everything that is left to be done is hard. I suppose that’s how challenging projects/endeavors go, why they often don’t get finished.
Again, I freely admit that I could use help/advice. And I am so used to avoiding asking for just that. At this point in my life, I finally get it. It’s all about collaboration, connections, setting one’s ego aside.
I decided to list what I feel I still need to to do before presenting the book to potential publishers. Humor me, as I list away yet again.
connect with at least a couple of tugmen
figure out what to do about the photo prints whose original slides are MIA
determine what to include for Chapter 9, which currently consists of only 2 slides
research what happened to the tugs (did they meet the fate that Jan & Lenny predicted? Is there a tugboat graveyard? If so, clearly I will have to visit/photograph it)
consider visiting the docks in nyc and photographing today’s tugs
decide on a company to use to make a sample photo essay book
figure out how to approach the incorporation of the writing (consult with Intellectual Property lawyer, ka-ching ka-ching)
create short list of potential publishers
There’s more. I’m just tired.
