My portrait show will open to the public next Monday, September l2. The pictures are already on the walls of the Round House Cafe, which is closed this week. There will be a reception for the portrait subjects and their families and the public on September 18 at the Round House, 1 Washington Street, from 2 to 4 p.m.

I’m calling the show “Cambridge People: Those Who Stayed Behind, A Celebration Of Work And Community.”

In rural communities all over America, small towns and villages and cities have been left behind, they have seen jobs and community institutions vanish, condemned as inefficient by politicians and economists. Factories, small businesses, jobs and young people have left, many working in  jobs they hate for people who care nothing for them.

In the country, many people still have callings, not jobs. Like Denny Yushak, whose meats are celebrated in homes and  restaurants for many miles. He loves what he does. So do the people in the portrait show. Here, we still have callings. The carpenter, the massage therapist, the brushhogger, the bartender/waitress, the hair stylist, the pharmacist.

The portrait show is meant to honor the people who stayed. who followed their callings, good people who work very hard in very different ways to form the rich tapestry of community that remains here.