A few months back I was asked to photograph a doctor for a local magazine. Pretty straightforward. The difference this day was that Bernie Parent was going to be there, as he and the doc’ are chummy and he was going to be a part of the ad we were creating. Pretty cool. My expectations were low however, as I assumed Mr. Parent would be distant/reserved and have zero interest in speaking to us common folk. As I arrived I received a call from the editor informing me that the doctor was running 30 minutes late. Doh! Oh well, guess I’ll kill time checking my email and reading about the Flyers season ending loss the night prior. As I’m unloading my gear into the waiting room there’s a friendly personal assistant (doc’s) and a joyous gentleman in the corner, who immediately greeted me. I assume that’s Bernie and by the sound of the accent- yup, has to be! For the next 30 minutes the three of us chatted about hockey, relationships, traveling, how to make the most out of life… It was really enjoyable. Bernie was a really down to earth, friendly, funny… person. He made it comfortable and fun, cutting out any lines of social disparity. Eventually the doc arrived and we had to get on with business. He still made jokes and had fun the entire time, making sure to rib the doc about lunch and golf plans they should make. At the end of our session Bernie shook my hands and said, in his French Canadian accent: “Jeff, you’re a cool guy. This was fun”. I returned the truthful compliment and felt uplifted as my ignorant expectations were squashed. The only regret was that I didn’t ask Bernie to do one thing: See, my grandmother is the biggest Flyers fan I know- has been for years. Had season tickets for over 20 years, watches every game to this day. She LOVED Bernie during his playing days and was one of the reasons she got into watching hockey. With the Flyers being eliminated from playoff contention the night prior, I knew she was feeling down. I wanted to ask Bernie to grab my phone and make a quick video telling my grandmother “Helen, it’s going to be okay. The future looks bright and our boys played hard. Hang in there”, or something in that ilk. I couldn’t bring myself to ask him, as I didn’t want to impose. But, I’m very confident that had I- Bernie Parent is the type of person that would not only oblige, but add his humor and personality to it to make it even more special than expected.
Here’s a quick image I grabbed of him as he was sitting against a chair in the waiting room, as I was setting up my lights. Thanks for taking the time. This post is for you, mom-mom! (who’s your favorite grandchild!?!?!) 😉
www.JeffAndersonPhotography.com
