Everyone is edgy this morning. . . .
…, she bursts in visibly upset, her coat jangling, and her face deeply furrowed with worry. Dona goes over to see what’s
the matter. Someone in her adult home, it turns out, mistakenly threw away one of her purses. Dona talks with her a few
minutes, trying to comfort her, but nothing seems to work. She’s nearly shrieking, and the whole class is growing upset.
Finally Dona says: "Joanne, do you know how to spell the work ‘chrysanthemum’?"
And then, as if a plug has been pulled, Joanne freezes in midsentence, puts her finger to her chin, and looks up.
"Chrysanthemum?"
"Yes," Dona nods. "Chrysanthemum."
Joanne thinks for a moment, straining her face upwards, as if she might find an answer there. The room is watching now,
and then slowly, like an engine clicking on, Joanne begins:
"C," she says, "H-R-Y…"
--Brad Kessler
Photographer Dona Ann McAdams has led arts workshops under the auspices of HAI for over fifteen years. The Garden of Eden is a photographic portfolio that evolved through McAdams’ experiences. The title, The Garden of Eden, is an ironic comment on a proprietary home for adults of the same name. An essay by Brad Kessler accompanies the photographs.
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