@caffetto brawl and new photography from Minneapolis!

Late night in the Metropolis, Steemit! I’m writing you just before 1:00a.m. Midwest time. So much has happened in 48 hours. I took a night off from posting because I was in a @caffetto brawl. No joke. I was commenting on @anomadsoul’s broken nose and nearly received my third. A customer with a young daughter was out of his mind at the register, screaming at my friend Erin, the barista. When I made my way to see what the commotion was about, he was violently shaking the little girl by the shoulder screaming that they weren’t leaving “…until this was made right!”.

From 2003 - 2007 I worked at a mental health technician in a psychiatric hospital. This guy was out control, but it looked exactly like the countless codes I’d been called on over seven years. I moved between him and the girl […a few coffee goers brought her away from the situation]. For a bit, it seemed like the situation was deescalating […by now, Erin had called the cops], and the he flipped, ran behind the bar, grabbed a coffee cup [..which he proclaimed he was going to smash] and tried to run out. I tackled him and held him on the floor for a few minutes until the cops showed up and took over. Low key, I was entertained knowing that I did this while wearing a Star Trek shirt. @tarotbyfergus said it best.

I learned today that he was arrested and charged, apparently for punching a cop. Through friends of @caffetto, it sounds like he’s typically a calm, quiet guy that lives within a few blocks of the coffee shop. This particular night, I can’t say what he was going through. He was screaming things like “….this isn’t the kind of practical joke like when a quarter has two heads!”. Maybe off his meds, maybe drugs? The little girl was okay when I left and I did hear that she was able to go back home with her mom. I narrowly missed having my face smashed by a ceramic mug, but I’m glad to know I can still hold my own in my advanced age :P

Today was great. All night,  I’ve been attempting to catch up on a few clients that I set as a goal to finish by Monday […hence why I’m burning the midnight oil]. I’ve posted a few photos of a Midwest model named Kristy. You can check those out in my previous post, “Dark pinup w/ Kristy in my hometown of Minneapolis!”. Ugh! Thinking back, this shoot happened just days before me, @vermillionfox and @guthrie left for a month on the road. It felt great to finish this set of images tonight as she’s been very patient, as have most of my clients.

Looking through these photos, I’m grateful for a friend like @mada. He’s bailed me out of so many shoots over the years, letting me use his beautiful home in the face of other locations falling through or clients not being able to find a worthwhile space. The lighting throughout his house is a perfect compliment to my style of dark pinup photography. Kristy was wonderful to work with that day. She came hair and make-up ready with an assortment of wardrobe options. It was a relaxing afternoon before a whirlwind trip. I rarely book shoots in Minnesota, so it was a real treat.

Thanks for reading. I have more coming from this shoot with Kristy. This entire week, @vermillionfox and I are committing to getting on a regular schedule of early, productive work. I want to take a minute to thank all of you for the love on my comic pages. The fact that those drawings are getting more votes than most of my photography means more to me than you’ll ever know. I’m extremely insecure about my illustration but the support I’ve been shown makes me believe that the hope of doing comics for a living is going to be a reality. I love you guys!