This is Pat.

I wish I could say that this was my photograph, but it is, and not regrettably, the genius of another Pittsburgh photographer who I happen to work with quite frequently.

Now this is a portrait if I ever saw one. Pat is the parking attendant in one of the theater district lots on Penn Ave. of whom I had the honor and complete pleasure of meeting and visiting with today. Huddled in his little parking booth in the freezing cold with a teeny, tiny space heater was the best thing I've done since I got home. As I watched the snow disintegrate in puddles through the one-panel plexiglass window, I realized that this little workspace and all of its parole-abiding employees have a hysterically honest story. I mean, heck, his character alone was so priceless that my little shaking body didn't even mind the Burgh's standard mid-winter chill.

Mind you, my introduction to Pat started with Matt bursting through the booth's door saying, "You look at my sister that way and I'll kick your ass!," or something to that ridiculous effect.

Haha... Allll in good fun, allll in good fun, but I will say that Pat's explanation of how to "let'em jag-offs wahnda fur ehrs" in the parking garage of the U.S. Steel Tower (I believe he still called it USX), which apparently is of the most impressively large parking garages in the city, couldn't possibly have been more eloquent.

If you're ever "dahn er," ask Pat if he prefers the pocket knife or the icepick and you will get a shockingly truthful answer.

Oh and I believe Matt titled this photo, "Get Your Ticket."