The Things I Know About Mr. Lee

Day 29

of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge by Leslie Saeta.

I've been thinking about this piece for a while. It's about Mr. Lee, the old man who used to live not far from us in that small run-down house, just round the corner of my kids' school. He doesn't live there anymore, and for some reason I miss him.

I've been passing by Mr. Lee's house a few times daily for seven years. If the weather was pleasant he would sit on the porch and watch the people come and go in their cars. When there was a storm brewing, I hoped he would be okay because the roof seemed not very reliable. And I always worried about him during the cold winter days.

He kept a few chairs and a card table outside, once in a while he had friends over to play dominoes.  A friend told me that he used to grow vegetables in a small plot across the street. He probably liked tomatoes. One time I noticed the bag of tomatoes that someone had left for him on his chair.

His name was not really Mr. Lee, I only called him that because he lived on Lee Avenue. I never knew his true name. We never talked. But a few years ago we started waving and smiling at each other.

After the long summer I realized that I hadn't seen Mr. Lee in a while. His house looked deserted. Some windows were opened, and it was obvious that someone had gone through his things. I wondered if Mr. Lee had died. Or maybe he is in a nursing home now, playing dominoes all day long.

Two weeks ago we found the house burnt down. The whole area smelled like barbecue. A wall had collapsed and revealed the leftovers of Mr. Lee's life. I often stop at the house for a moment which now is just a pile of debris fenced in by yellow caution tape.

Good bye, Mr. Lee. I hope you were a nice person because I miss you.

"The Things I know About Mr. Lee"
Acrylics, gesso, fly leaves, clippings from books and magazines, on canvas panel, 20" x 16" - I used an old domino for the block printing.