The Shoe Repairman

Manuel Nunez is wearing wingtips. They are the color of caramel and polished to you-can-see-your-face-in-them perfection. I know this because I look down when Manuel tells me about them. Manuel, who spends his 8 a.m.-to-8-p.m. days standing while saving soles at Hong’s Shoe Repair, doesn’t wear them to work. He has dressed up for me and my camera. His work boots – black behemoths by Red Wing – are in the back, ready to receive his feet. Manuel, whose hands are leopard spotted with…

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The Zen Rocker

What do a statue of Ganesha, an electric-red Kramer guitar, a 20-year-old ZZ plant, ticket stubs from Bad Brains and OFF! concerts, a Malta stamp and a black Trek road bike have in common? I’m guessing you’ll never guess. OK, here’s the answer: Mike Dijan. I told you you’d never guess. Mike, obviously, is interested in a lot of different things. Besides the aforementioned, he’s into carpentry, yoga, long-distance running, veganism, triathlons and nutrition. And probably a couple…

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The Wallpaper Designer

Sitting in her bright white-walled design studio, Sarah Merenda flips through her book of wallpaper samples. The owner of Merenda Wallpaper, she’s not looking for any particular pattern, which is a good thing because her designs are diverse and if you don’t know Sarah, you might mistakenly think they are random. She stops when she gets to , a vibrant floral. She named it after her grandmother and is particularly pleased with the purple colorway. A little later, she pulls out , whose smiling…

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The Fun Family

When Kazuki Kozuru-Salifoska opens the blinds to bring in the morning sun, her daughter, Kharin, protests. Kharin is wearing a new T-shirt that glows in the dark and wants to see it – not the sun – shine. She’s 8, and she forgets all about making a sartorial statement when her father, Seido Kozuru-Salifoski, distracts her with the drumbeat of the darbuka. Before long, Kharin’s sneaking up, making bunny ears behind his head. She thinks he’s lost in his music; he knows what she’s…

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The Proactive Actor

It’s been a month since Joshua Morgan has set eyes on Barnaby. That’s why the maroon fan-tailed Betta is swimming in circles in a tiny round plastic container on the dining room table. Joshua just got home last night and fetched him from a friend’s house, so he hasn’t had time to transfer him to his big glass bowl, and for this he is feeling guilty. While Barnaby the Betta was being boarded, Joshua was reigning as King Herod in the North Carolina Theatre’s production of . It’s hard…

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