marty . 64 years old / collinsville . oklahoma
this thanksgiving day morning slipped away from me and suddenly it was lunch time. i joined my friend zach and the rest of his family at his aunt's house. i figured i would say some hellos and eat some food and then go out in search of the day's stranger. after partaking in the festivities, i decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood instead of driving into town. this was a risky move, as the neighborhood was very rural and there was only enough light for one or the other. i was determined to find someone in the neighborhood, though. i figured i would go door-to-door knocking if it came to that.
i walked a few blocks before i saw the first adult outside. there had been a child playing on a basketball hoop, but i figured i would get shot if i solicited her. i spotted a man carrying some bags out to his vehicle. as he was loading them in the back, i approached him with an explanation of what i was doing. i told him i was from out of town and was visiting my friend and his family. i explained the project. another man came outside and the first man tried to convince me that the other guy should be the day's stranger. that dissipated organically, though, and the first man told me to go ahead.
marty told me he was a good judge of character and that in his 64 years on this earth he had never been wrong. as we were chatting and exchanging information, a younger woman came out of the house, marched over to the scene, and told marty that his wife had instructed him not to participate. marty told the woman that i looked like a nice kid and continued on. i am not positive, but i am guessing that marty was this woman's father and that whatever he says is punctuated with a judge's gavel. the woman walked back inside and marty explained to me that his wife is a little skeptical of these kinds of things. i told him i understood. despite marty's willingness to participate, he held onto enough skepticism to not share his contact information with me. i told him that if he had any interest in this project after he saw it posted online to please contact me. i ask for people's phone number or email address so that i can notify them if they are going to be in a show or a book, but it seems that people often assume i am going to sell their information to telemarketers or computer spammers.
marty is retired now, but use to work as the maintenance supervisor for american airlines. i asked him if he enjoyed his job. he gave me a very direct "no" but after a short pause asked me if i wanted to know why. i told him i did. he told me it was an adult babysitting position. he was frustrated that his job quickly became less about airplanes and more about managing people. he told me that he learned a lot about people in the many years he worked for AA and that it wasn't always good. i told him i could relate and that even in the short time (comparatively) i've been working on this project, i've had my fair share of disappointments.
marty asked me about the project and about my goals. he told me that he thought this must be difficult. i appreciated that sentiment and explained that it was. marty asked how many people have turned me down and i confirmed that there have been over 1,000. then he asked how many have said yes and i told him that he was number 445. marty gave me a sincere look and told me he might be in touch with me.
thanks for your time, marty, and for saying yes despite encouragement in the other direction. happy thanksgiving!
this thanksgiving day morning slipped away from me and suddenly it was lunch time. i joined my friend zach and the rest of his family at his aunt's house. i figured i would say some hellos and eat some food and then go out in search of the day's stranger. after partaking in the festivities, i decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood instead of driving into town. this was a risky move, as the neighborhood was very rural and there was only enough light for one or the other. i was determined to find someone in the neighborhood, though. i figured i would go door-to-door knocking if it came to that.
i walked a few blocks before i saw the first adult outside. there had been a child playing on a basketball hoop, but i figured i would get shot if i solicited her. i spotted a man carrying some bags out to his vehicle. as he was loading them in the back, i approached him with an explanation of what i was doing. i told him i was from out of town and was visiting my friend and his family. i explained the project. another man came outside and the first man tried to convince me that the other guy should be the day's stranger. that dissipated organically, though, and the first man told me to go ahead.
marty told me he was a good judge of character and that in his 64 years on this earth he had never been wrong. as we were chatting and exchanging information, a younger woman came out of the house, marched over to the scene, and told marty that his wife had instructed him not to participate. marty told the woman that i looked like a nice kid and continued on. i am not positive, but i am guessing that marty was this woman's father and that whatever he says is punctuated with a judge's gavel. the woman walked back inside and marty explained to me that his wife is a little skeptical of these kinds of things. i told him i understood. despite marty's willingness to participate, he held onto enough skepticism to not share his contact information with me. i told him that if he had any interest in this project after he saw it posted online to please contact me. i ask for people's phone number or email address so that i can notify them if they are going to be in a show or a book, but it seems that people often assume i am going to sell their information to telemarketers or computer spammers.
marty is retired now, but use to work as the maintenance supervisor for american airlines. i asked him if he enjoyed his job. he gave me a very direct "no" but after a short pause asked me if i wanted to know why. i told him i did. he told me it was an adult babysitting position. he was frustrated that his job quickly became less about airplanes and more about managing people. he told me that he learned a lot about people in the many years he worked for AA and that it wasn't always good. i told him i could relate and that even in the short time (comparatively) i've been working on this project, i've had my fair share of disappointments.
marty asked me about the project and about my goals. he told me that he thought this must be difficult. i appreciated that sentiment and explained that it was. marty asked how many people have turned me down and i confirmed that there have been over 1,000. then he asked how many have said yes and i told him that he was number 445. marty gave me a sincere look and told me he might be in touch with me.
thanks for your time, marty, and for saying yes despite encouragement in the other direction. happy thanksgiving!
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