Return to Savannah, Part VI: A fortuitous encounter at Forsyth Square

As I alluded to in the first post of this series, I had a fortuitous encounter in Forsyth on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, our second full day in Savannah. It was a day we spent the morning walking around the historic district again (which we always make a point to do while in Savannah) and, in the afternoon, taking the hour and a half trolley tour of the district. 

During the morning walking portion of our day, we approached Forsyth Square from the east, the side flanked by Drayton Street. I spied a couple of gentlemen sitting on a park bench in the middle of the park's south section, a scenario that reminded me of something that had happened on our very first visit to Savannah in March 2017. 

If you're a regular follower of this blog, you might remember the story and picture of the two nattily dressed gentlemen I made in 2017 and included in one of my posts here about that trip. 

At that time, I had asked the gentlemen if they would mind me photographing them, and both cheerfully consented. They told me their names, but I didn't write them down. By the time I got home to Indianapolis and began to compose the blog post, while I had remembered the full name of one gentleman (John Harrington), I could remember only the first name of the other one (James). The photo leading off the post is a cropped version that ran with the original post in 2017; below is the uncropped original, which I don't think I included in the 2017 post. 

When I saw those gentlemen on the bench from afar on the recent visit, I decided to cross the grassy meadow of Forsyth Square to investigate if maybe those were the same two gentlemen I had photographed in 2017. If so, I was hoping to get the other guy's last name and possibly do an updated photo.

Alas, as I got close to the men, I could see that it was not them. I turned and walked north toward the central fountain. In short order,  I came upon a single man on another bench, and I came up with the idea to ask him if he were a regular visitor to the park (he said yes). And then asked him if would mind telling me if he knew or recognized John and/or James if I showed him their photo on my iPhone. 

He looked at the photo for a good 10 seconds before he flashed a smile and said, while still fixing his attention on the photograph, that yes, he has seen them in the park before. He said they help staff a very modest Jehovah Witness booth that sets up daily in the park near the central fountain. 

I thanked him and headed north toward the fountain. Before I got to it though, there was a small booth along the sidewalk on the right that clearly was religious in nature. So I strolled over to it and gambled that it was likely staffed by members of Jehovah Witness that the man on the bench who I had just talked to mentioned moments earlier. But the booth was staffed by two women -- no men. So I repeated with the women what I had done with the man moments earlier -- showed her the picture and asked if they recognized John and James. 

The first lady I showed the picture to immediately and cheerfully said yes. She confirmed that one was John Harrington and told me James' surname was Washington. She also confirmed that the two men help out with the church's mission to spread the word at the park booths, but they do so primarily in the afternoon. 

I told her about the chance encounter I had with John and James six years earlier in the same park, and the woman agreed to let me send her a copy of the photo by text so she could show it to John and James the next time she came across them. I gave her my name, too, in case either of the gentlemen cared to know that information. There was a small part of me that wished John or James might drop me a text at some point since that May 16 encounter, but that has not happened.  

When I first came upon John and James in 2017, they were simply sitting on a park bench that was considerably south of the park's central fountain. There was no church-related booth setup nearby. Because of my curious nature, I would have liked to have asked them this time around if they always had been members of Jehovah Witness and participated in church promotions in the park ... or whether that activity came about in the years after I was there in 2017. I will add that in the few weeks since learning about their work with Jehovah's Witness, when I've gone back to look at the photo I took in 2017, I've wondered if the pamphlet James Washington is holding might be a church flier.  

I guess I'll never know. And I didn't get a chance to go back to the square while we were there to see if John and James would welcome an updated portrait. 

End of Series

Previously in this series:

Part I: Revisiting Savannah's historic district

Part II: The Crab Shack, Tybee Island

Part III: Dolphin-spotting, seabirds, lighthouses and more off Tybee Island

Part IV: Eateries, galleries and boutiques

Part V: Tiffani Taylor paintings find homes in historic district

Savannah, Part I: Forsyth Square

Savannah, Ga., had been on my travel "wish list" for at least 10 years, so it was with great satisfaction -- and enjoyment of beautiful weather -- that I spent several days there in early March. But it was just the start of a protracted East Coast travel odyssey that went well into March. The itinerary included two stops in North Carolina, as well as a return to Charleston, S.C., and first visits to Tybee Island, Ga., and North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In trying to devise a plan to present my images in blog posts, I came up ideas that were all over the place. I kept asking myself, "Where do I begin?" I really didn't shoot much in North Carolina, yet I still managed to take thousands of photographs. The pictures you'll see over the course of the next few posts will come from all the other places mentioned in the previous paragraph.

After kicking around the "Where do I begin?" question for several weeks while I processed the images, it occurred to me just today that I would not only start in Savannah ... but in a specific place in Savannah -- Forsyth Square -- and to lead with the image you see at the top of the post. This photograph brought me the most joy on the trip -- because of its spontaneity, and because of the wonderfully charming, albeit brief, exchange Lee Ann and I had with these gentlemen.

We came upon them almost just as you see them -- sitting on a bench in Forsyth Square, by far the largest and most distinguished among Savannah's 22 neighborhood parks, or "squares." Most of the parks are square-shaped or marginally rectangular; Forsyth, at the southern tip of the series of squares, is decidedly rectangular and extends six blocks long (north and south) and two blocks wide (east and west). But I digress.

I thought "portrait" the moment I laid eyes on these nattily dressed gentlemen. Lee Ann spotted them at the same time I did, and without us even conferring, Lee Ann hustled ahead of me, smiled at the two men, and politely asked if she could take their picture. In response, one of the men (I forgot now which) smiled, pointed at me and made a joke about how I might not appreciate her doing that. I quickly told them that I would not mind at all, and that taking their portrait had also occurred to me ... but I was much slower to process how I would approach them to do it.

The two men kindly consented, and before I had time to size up a composition, Lee Ann had her iPhone in place and took several photographs with it. When it came to my turn, one of the men noticed I had a Canon DSLR (a 6D) and a strap attached to it labeled with the Canon logo and said something in joking fashion (I forgot exactly what) indicating how my gear was much more serious.

I used the trunk and arching lower branch of a large oak tree behind the bench where they were sitting to sort of "frame" the subjects (right). But weeks later, when I was back home and brought the images up on my computer screen during post-processing, it occurred to me to apply a crop and see how that looked. I don't mind the original composition, but I much prefer the cropped version, which is why I picked it to lead with at the top of this post.

After I finished my shots (which I took in short order), I showed the men the pictures on the display on the back of the camera and then the four of us introduced ourselves. I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot the man on the right's name, even though I asked him to repeat his first name because I thought he said it was Jay. He corrected me and said it was James. I just don't remember the last name now. The man on the left's name is John Harrington. I wish I would have asked them if they would have liked to receive copies of the photos, but ... I didn't. So if John and James ever see these photos again, it'll be because someone they know will have stumbled upon this post.

There's a wonderful conclusion to the story. Six years later, we returned to Savannah and Forsyth Square, and I encountered a few women minding a kiosk along the main sidewalk. I started a chat by asking them if they knew the men in the picture (which I showed them). They said yes. They said the men still come to the park regularly. The told me the surname of James is Washington. I gave them a copy of the photo so they could show John and James that I had returned. 

The remainder of this post is devoted to the rest of my images from Forsyth Square, where you'll find the city's marquee fountain as well as several monuments, an amphitheater, scores of elegant oak trees (and Spanish moss dangling from them), floral arrangements and open space where people lounge and take in the sun.

As always, click on any picture to pull up a larger, sharper version. To view a full gallery of my shots in Savannah (including photos that will be appearing in subsequent posts), click on the link in this sentence.

Approaching the fountain in Forsyth Square (above), and the elegant parade of oak branches and Spanish moss (below) lining the sidewalk along the park's east side. 

Above: A different section of the walk along the eastside of the square looking from the opposite direction.

Above and next two below: Wide views and a detail shot of the fountain.

 Above: The amphitheater.

Above and below: Examples of monuments in the square.

Examples of floral displays (above and below) and the open meadow (second below), where people feel comfortable lounging.

Above: A cafe in the middle of the square that includes -- much to Lee Ann's delight -- a Starbucks station.