i met the mayor

i'd never met him before. but i knew he had to be something special if sadie agreed to marry him. i got out of the car and was compelled to hug him, that's not unusual for me but sometimes it takes people off guard. not ben. he hugged back!

ben and sadie are from small towns, where reputations are quickly made. i went to chillicothe where ben is from and sadie will soon live, to photograph them. he knew everyone. when i asked about locations, he'd say, "oh don't worry this is so and so's place i know them". or when i found the perfect building and the owner drove by he just said "oh it's just you ben". even in the middle of nowhere on a gravel road a guy passed by and stopped to say hello and heckle a little. i hope sadie loves to meet new people, because ben doesn't meet a stranger.

maybe what draws people to him is that fact that he's kind and patient. he farms thousands of acres near chillicothe, and if you know anything about farming you would know that ben is in the thick of harvest. he might be a big time farmer but he took the time to stop and let me photograph them, because it was important to sadie. i really like this guy.