The beauty of youth is given. An aging face's beauty is earned.
This flower vendor I photographed on Sixth Street is especially gifted with character lines that ripple away from the splash of her smile.
She's sitting in the heart of Austin's entertainment district, but I'm not convinced that's a happy smile.
She's one of Austin's many marginal residents. Panhandlers. Drifters. The out-of-options. Austin is prosperous, vigorous, young. But the city is also full of economically precarious families. And a booming homeless population. Often old. Or old before their time.
I'm sorry I didn't buy a rose.