Hands Photo: Dogwood 52 Week 4

Inspiration for the Hands Photo

While brainstorming concepts for my “hands” photo, I thought of a segment I shot for NBC in 1999 for our Beating the Odds series. We featured Dat Nguyen, a blind-since-birth guitarist from Vietnam, who came to the US after living in a string of abusive orphanages and foster homes after the death of his mother (dad was American but not in the picture.) We won a Golden Mic for the segment.

Dat is a self-taught musician, inspired to play guitar after hearing a piece by Andreas Segovia (yep, me too). After arriving in the States, he entered Cal State Fullerton’s music program.

Listening to Dat play is magical.

Hands Photo annual challenge prompt.
(From Dat Nguyen’s Facebook Page)

Beyond his talent, he’s just a cool dude. During the shoot, we had fun chatting and joking around, and then we got into a conversation that came around to… hands.

The Hands of…

A god. That’s what Dat has. Me on the other hand? I mentioned I played classical guitar, although not particularly well. He asked to feel my hands (since he could not see them.) I gave him my left hand. He ran his fingers across my callouses, my palms, and the back of my hand, reading every inch. He let go and said:

“YOU HAVE MAN HANDS.”

Dat Nguyen

Twenty-four years later, I’m still laughing. It’s a regular joke. As you can see in the photo, I do not have feminine hands. They are working hands.

And yes, Dat. I still play classical guitar with my man-hands.

Next week’s prompt:

Hmmmm… I’ll have to think about that one for a bit.

Until next time…

Later Gators!


LATER GATORS!

Have a project? Let’s chat!