On the bus down to New York I sat next to this man, Kader. He was sleeping and had an interesting face so naturally I drew him. When he woke suddenly I quickly put my sketch down but then realized that I didn’t particularly want to hide the fact I was drawing him. We hadn’t spoken for the entirety of the trip and I had already exhausted conversation with the people in the seats (we talked of Naples and Oranges) next to me, so I simply said “Hey I drew you, see..” and then showed him the sketch. He was favourable to his likeness and had a kindness to his demeanor so we started talking of work and life and god and women. He had grown up in Algeria and then moved all over the world. While in Paris he met an American woman, they married and came out to Pittsburgh. At the time (11 years ago) he spoke no English and when he came here - although trained as an accountant in Europe and very bright - his options for work were limited, so in his late 30’s he began working in gas stations, making pizza dough, and doing whatever odd jobs he could find. He had wisdom and he had presence and he appreciated life for what it was. At least in our conversation he presented his philosophy of focusing on what one is doing while they are doing it, embracing each job for all it’s worth and each city and place for their value as well. He referred to God frequently, often with a quotation. I didn’t get the impression that these were statements from a book or dogma, but from lessons and truths that had been garnered through life.