Ray Dolin, a writer/photographer from West Virginia was supposedly working on some something of a hitchhiker’s guide to kindness in America, to be called, well, Kindness in America. As writers do, Dolin had an epiphany* – and decided that, in the cutthroat environment that is today’s literary world, he needed to give his book’s prospects a boost.
So, at the great American intersection of self-promotion, ingenuity, and guns, he shot himself, which on the scale of dramatic gestures goes well beyond, say, my firing myself to get publicity for Pink Slip.
After the shooting, Dolin gave the Montana po-po a description of his supposed assailant that wasn’t a self-portrait. Based on Dolin’s photographic eye for the details – real or fake – the authorities found the hapless, luckless Lloyd Christopher Danielson III tootling along in a maroon pickup and arrested him for plugging Dolin. And as Danielson III’s luckless would have it, even when the charge was dropped:
…Danielson remained in custody, accused of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he was arrested. (Source: Huff Po.)
Sheriff Glen Meier had him an inkling that Danielson wasn’t the culprit in the Dolin shooting. There may be plenty of gunplay in Montana, but apparently most of it isn’t drive by:
"I had the worst feeling he was telling me the absolute truth," Meier said. "I kept telling him that we are seekers of the truth and we are going to work very hard to find out the truth of this incident. ... It was a great moment when I sent someone up to the jail to tell him he had nothing to do with it."
That must indeed have been a great moment although, however under the influence he had been, Danielson pretty much knew that he “had nothing to do with it” even before the cool, clear, eyes of the seekers of wisdom and truth in the Valley County, Montana, Sheriff’s Department appeared at his jail cell to give him the good word.
Meantime, in keeping with the Kindness in America theme, Sherry Alveson of Malta, Montana, stopped to help Dolin after her daughter saw him bleeding by the side of the road, trying to flag someone down.
"He had blood down his arms, all over his clothes, and he was bleeding and shivering and shaky," Alveson said of her initial encounter with Dolin. "I wasn't going to leave him sitting there."
Well, I must say that there is a big difference between the kindness of someone from Malta, Montana, and the kindness of someone from Boston, Massachusetts, reacting to the sight of a bleeding man in a remote place. Me, I would have made sure my doors were locked, driven on a quarter or a mile or so, pulled over, and called 911. (On the other hand, if I were walking down a city street and saw someone bleeding, I would more than likely stop immediately to help. Can’t really tell: the closest I’ve come is the wrong-way lunatic on the bicycle I saw hit by a car last fall in front of our house. I called 911 and stayed with the guy until the ambulance came.)
Alveson said that even as she waited with the wounded Dolin for emergency personnel to arrive, he began talking about his memoir. She said he brought it up again when she visited him in a Glasgow hospital the next day.
Ah, yes, the book must go on!
And the wounded warrior story was getting some traction. AP picked up the story. I even saw an editorial, written before the truth came out, in the UK Guardian, “In Praise of Ray Dolin.”
Alveson is sticking to her guns about her decision to stop for Dolin:
"Whether it was self-inflicted or somebody else did it, he needed help," Alveson said.
I think it’s time for the Guardian to do an editorial in praise of Sherry Alveson. If I’m ever shot, I sure hope she’s driving by.
It’s not clear whether there will be any charges lodged against Dolin. It would truly be kindness in Montana if he were let off. (As for Lloyd Danielson III: Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, it is really not a good idea to drink or dope and drive, even in Big Sky country where you’re more likely to mow down a prairie dog than anything else.)
Dolin, as it turns out, is someone who’s already shown himself to be enamored of the gun metaphor. His photography business is called One Shot Impressions, and sports a gun site as its logo, right next to these words:
We believe in creating dynamic, comfortable sessions that allow the client to relax and reveal his or her true personality
Personally, I don’t think having my picture taken by someone whose logo is a gun site would allow me to relax and reveal my true personality. (Maybe it would; maybe I’m just a chicken shit.) But, then again, I’m from Moobat, Massachusetts, not Wingnut, West Virginia. Perhaps Dolin specialized in photography for shotgun weddings.
OneShot offers wedding, head shots, model portfolios, children, senior portraits, maternity pictures, new born, baby, engagement, bridal, event coverage and much more...
Head shots’ taking on new meaning, isn’t it? And I hope Dolin remembered not to shoot himself in his camera arm.
Here’s from Dolin’s About page.
My name is Ray Dolin and two of my greatest passions in life are travel and photography. I believe that travel broadens one's view of the world. Experiencing other cultures, meeting people from other communities, other countries, and seeing the beauty of the world has helped me understand that all of our lives are both interconnected and individual.
Curiously, the web site has no contact information. If Dolin’s lucky, it won’t be some jail cell in Montana, hoping for the kindness of his jail keepers.
And good luck with the book, Ray, and with the photography business. I have a hunch you’re going to need it. On second thought, maybe not. We’re pretty kind, here in America, and we do tend to love (and forgive) the most egregious screw ups. And, on a scale of 1 to 10, unless you’re Lloyd Danielson III, this is certainly not a biggie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I’m writing this post on Bloomsday, when James Joyce is celebrated. And he is, is he not, the patron saint of the epiphany?
No comments:
Post a Comment