"Empire"

A man approaches me as I sit on a bench on the National Mall and asks me if I will take a picture of him. He is nicely dressed in a well-fitting grey suit, and is shaven. He appears to be of Middle Eastern or Eastern European descent, and has a hint of an accent. He stands firmly in front of the Capitol Building and raises a sign on white cardboard with black lettering over his head. The sign says simply, “EMPIRE”. He asks me to make sure that the whole building and his whole body are in the photograph. I take the picture with the digital camera and then show it to him. He smiles, thanks me, and tells me to have a good day. I look around and see a blond woman in a pale blue windbreaker and jeans with a young child in a stroller stopped and staring at our interaction. When she sees me look at her she looks away.