peter
“One day, the Garda stopped my van at a checkpoint. I thought, ‘Oh boy. Here we go…’ The officer looked through the passenger window and saw all the plastic cowboys, Indians, and toy soldiers scattered around the dashboard. He raised his eyebrows and asked me to open the side door, so I did. When I slid it open, his jaw dropped in shock. He looked at me and said, ‘I wish my father was here to see this.’ I thought, what a coincidence—his dad must have been a John Wayne fan too. I used to work as a delivery man for the libraries, and my van had become quite a spectacle because of its unique decoration. Whenever I delivered to the libraries, staff and the public would come out to admire the van and take pictures with it. My father and I used to watch all the western movies together, and we had probably seen every John Wayne film a hundred times over. He was a great man, and those movies always reminded me of the times we spent together when I was a kid. I spent 44 years working for the council, thanks to a man named Liam Owens who started me in DLR Baths. I’ll be forever grateful to him because I had a wonderful career there. I did everything—working on the roads, as a warden, in housing, and even as a bin man. I loved them all but when I got the opportunity to work as a delivery driver for the libraries, it felt like winning the lotto! The whole van decoration thing started with just one toy soldier on the dashboard. I liked it there, so I added a couple more. I received a lot of compliments so I asked the management if I could put a poster on the cargo wall, and they said okay. I had so many John Wayne posters at home, so I kept putting up more until the entire van was covered in western movie posters. I retired three years ago, and the library gave me the most beautiful send-off. They were a wonderful group of people to work for. It was amazing to see how something as simple as a toy soldier on the dashboard could evolve into a spectacle that brought joy to many people. As I look back, I’m grateful for a life well-lived and the chance to have made a little magic along the way.”
This story is part of my new exhibition, my largest so far. Along with sixty other large prints and the best stories from the past decade in the dlr LexIcon Venue Find out more in the comments section.