Here are 2 more interviews conducted on Wednesday evening while walking from West Side School for the Desperate (an arts collective at Central Park and Wrightwood) to my home near Armitage and Campbell.
There is also included, not an interview, but an attempt to interview. As I was walking around I was scoping out potential interview-ees. I can get a pretty accurate grasp on if it's going to work out--if I have a good chance of being allowed to interview them. I looked inside of Vas Foremost Liquors, and I saw the vibe and it didn't look promising, so I wanted to test it out. And sure enough, no interview. They were unfriendly, but not offensive, I guess? The door to their store said "Must be 21 to enter, if you're not 21 Don't even try!" Okay!
The first place I went into, Logan Square Food and Liquor--maybe it was called "pantry" or "supply" as well, can't remember-- it's an easy to miss place if you aren't on the lookout for an inconspicuous convenience/liquor store. I don't usually go into those places because I don't need anything that they sell, but I noticed some guys at the back who appeared to be playing arcade games, so I figured I would ask them. The guy at the counter was friendly, which I appreciate. He smiled and greeted me. I went to the back where the guys were playing some shooting or race car game.
I asked the first guy, "Can I interview you?" He said he doesn't speak English well. I wondered if he was just using this line to say "no." I asked the next guy. I was a little afraid that they'd be annoyed that I was interrupting the course of their virtual battles, but I didn't care that much, so I asked. He also said his English wasn't very good, I said, "Well I can understand you just fine," and he seemed willing enough so, interview happened.
Hopefully the sound of the TV attached to the ceiling didn't drown out too much of the interview.
Martin, the arcade player, is from Mexico. He's lived here for 8 years. He had a relaxed and amicable demeanor, maybe shy mixed with relaxed actually. His answers had a tone of, "well obviously", which I can understand. But I also can't truly understand because I'm not from Mexico, or a country that lots of people leave to go to a "better" country, as far as job opportunities, standard of living, etc. I thought about this on the walk after the interview. What would it be like to be from a place where people are striving to leave, rather than living here, where people from elsewhere are striving to come here? Or would it not be that different? Just an opposite norm? A norm is a norm. It sounds ridiculous to say that it wouldn't be so different to grow up in a poor family in Mexico vs a wealthy family in the U.S., but I was just trying to wrap my mind around the feeling of a cultural "norm".
The next guy I interviewed was sitting with a couple of friends, all probably in their 60s or 70s, sitting outside a store, just talking. They seemed to have a great familiarity with each other, old friends perhaps. The man I interviewed was comfortable with himself in a way that I've observed old people can be. He lives here because it's beautiful. That's it. No explanation necessary. He asked about me, do I ever go downtown? Where do I go to school? Do I live here? I felt kind of silly, I could feel my youth next to his old age. He terminated the interview, by saying, "well! okay, thank you" or something like that. I felt the itch to ask more questions to get to some deeper nugget of meaning about this guy's perspective. But it didn't come. I wanted to know how exactly the city is beautiful to him.
Photo credits: thank you "really boring" from flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/4383842274/
and Google Maps street view.
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