Ricky Laughs like a Lighthouse

Ricky and Greg mid-laugh in Biesmiellah’s, a Cape Malay restaurant in Bo Kapp, Cape Town, SA.

Ricky’s from District 6. It was a vibrant community before it was destroyed by South Africa’s apartheid government in the 1970s. This same day this moment was captured, we walked through the ruins of his old neighborhood on what was left of narrow streets while Ricky’s stories brought the community back to life, if only for an afternoon. You could almost hear the choirs and smell dinner being prepared while neighbors greeted each other on the street. It was beautiful — but only because Ricky made it so. He had every reason to be bitter, but he was light. He often said, “I don’t have baggage. I have a backpack full of experience,” which is a mindset rooted in a choice that one has to make every single day. He did so by being a light to others, especially those society had pushed to the side, or worse. He will be missed.