Interesting People

MORGAN HAFER

Richmond resident

MH I’ve been a bike messenger for the last 14 years.  But I’m, uh, recently forced into retirement.

CT I’m sorry.

MH Yeah, so I’m unemployed.  I’m also a photographer, trying to get that going.  But, it’s uh … it’s hard to start something without money, and I’m not, you know.  So basically I’m looking for work.

CT What sort of photography do you do?

MH Uh, nature.  Nature. … Nature, and, um, some architecture, I love architecture, but my main thing is … nature.  And bridges.  I’m, trains and bridges have really been a thing for me. … Anything without people, at this point.

CT You maintain a rather regular presence at this spot.

MH Before I became a messenger I actually grew up here.  I used to live a block away, and this used to be our Hacky Sack spot. Yeah, so um, I’m back, I’ve survived many years in the wild world.  And this is uh… my payback.

CT As a bike messenger, did you…

MH Like, pick up, deliver packages, boxes, whatever.  So far I’ve worked in DC, San Francisco, Boston … and I was in New York for nine years.  And it was just driving me crazy.  ‘Cause I grew up here, so I’ve seen … Richmond used to be a more populated place, but um.  Needless to say.

CT Let me clarify – you actually prefer Richmond to New York City?

MH Quality of life is a huge thing for me.  I’m older now. … When I was living here, I was about 25, and now I’m 39, and so.  Yeah.  … When you get a little older, your standards hopefully will rise above, uh, New York City.

CT Hopefully.

MH My dream is to travel, take pictures, to, you know, see the world, take beautiful pictures.  And make a living off of that. … Unfortunately, like, being in New York you’d think, “Oh, you’re a photographer, if you can’t make it in New York you can’t make it anywhere!”  Well what happens now is that, if you want to learn more about photography, or you wanna get in the network of professional photographers, you have to first be an intern.  And we all know what that means, it means you work for free, for … an undetermined amount of time, and I’m … past the intern age, for living that kind of life.  I’m married and have a little blind dog.  So yeah, I’m looking for maybe, trying to walk dogs or something.  Anything that allows me to be outdoors.

CT What’s your little blind dog’s name?

MH Handsome.

CT Adorable.

MH He’s amazing.  He was a blind dog on Petfinder.com.  And uh, me and my wife, we’re not … children-oriented people. He was a rescue, and we weren’t sure he’d have much help, so.

CT I imagine most students know you for your Hacky Sack skills.  Can you describe your connection with it?

MH My connection with Hacky Sack.  Well one afternoon, I was walking down Grace Street, and it happened to be the same afternoon I was making my way to a Bob Dylan concert in the afternoon.  And at the corner of Grace and Lombardy … there’s an apartment complex on the left hand side, a big open courtyard type … thing.  And they were having a potfest.

CT A potfest.

MH Like, a marijuana … like a normal festival but, marijuana.  Kind of inappropriate for Grace Street, much less Richmond.

CT If you say so.

MH And I saw this big circle of people kicking this ball around.  And I was like, “What’s up with this?” And it was Hacky Sack, and that was my first Hacky Sack.  And since then it’s … it’s healthy, it’s cheap, and when you have free time on your hands, you can either think about … things, which for me don’t always lead to happy thoughts.  So you know, I try to sidetrack myself with a little Hacky Sack, a little physical activity.  And what better place than here.  … When me and my roommates used to live at Grace and Morris, this was our spot.

CT We’ll be getting out of your way soon…

MH Well, it’s not like … my spot, I don’t like … lay claim …