Heroic

A hero is someone who refuses to have his picture taken.

He smiles when you ask, as if not understanding the question, which, as seen in this particular picture, is enitrely possible.

He smiles and nods and keeps walking uphill along Lovers Lane to Presidio Boulevard, disappearing into the mists of Sacramento Street.

There are gaps between his upper teeth. Carbon dating puts his chronological age between 65 and 75, male, a descendent of the Hmong people from the mountainous regions of China and Vietnam.

And still you ask him to stop his stride forward so that you can take his picture.

He smiles and keeps walking, having spent the morning collecting cast-off aluminum cans, stomping and then stuffing them into 20-gallon Hefty trash bags.

There are five completely filled bags festooned around his body.

He's in perfect balance as he walks away, up the steep hill, from the camera.