Cohutta, Georgia. Tripod dog. Would-be anarchist.

Summer 2001. Nikon FM, 50mm f/1.4 lens. Exposure detail not recorded.

This man, who dressed for the occasion of having a portrait made, had been threatened with expulsion from his house if he neglected to clean up his property and pay his property taxes.

When confronted with the nasty possibility of going to jail for non-compliance, he commented (to me, on the record for a newspaper story) that "Ruby Ridge wasn't nothing compared to what's going to happen if they come here," referring to an unfortunate event in Idaho where federal agents killed innocent people for no apparent reason. Yes, his correllation between the presumed-promised event and the actual attack on innocent bystanders was unfortunate and fallacious. But the threat of violence was more than a bad idea; it was also felonious.

I asked him whether he really wanted me to quote him. He asked me to please do so.

Later, when county officials showed up at his house, they brought along sheriff's deputies. As I understand it, he was arrested without incident.

I still wonder what happened to the three-legged black and white dog.