The Bean Man Fresh Beans 8.5.23

This couple was back in Baltimore visiting for the weekend and made a special trip to their home market. They lived in Maryland for 46 years before moving to Gambier, Ohio, where the husband teaches creative writing at Kenyon College. They go to the farmers market in Gambier and there are some great Amish farmers, but the market is a lot smaller than the 32nd Street Farmers Market. They’ve been to the JFX market too, but that has a different feel. The 32nd Street Market reminded them of the open-air markets that they’ve visited in Paris. The husband remembered the Bean Man, and I wondered whether he knew that the Bean Man passed away last year. I thought about when I learned that Lenny from Nauset Beach passed away, and I was really sad, even though I only knew him in a specific context. These farmers and vendors become a part of our lives, part of our stories, and when they’re gone, we feel their absence.