An Interview

 

            My name is Phillip. I interviewed an elderly man by the name of Mr. Smith. Mr. Smithis a 70 year old man who was born on March 17, 1931. That is the day after my birthday! He lives in Boston with his five kids. He went to a college outside of the Boston. I do not recall him giving me the name of the college.

            Mr. Smith was in the army for 2 years. He left the army to work at the Boys Club in Boston, where he was headmaster until his retirement. The Boys Club was across the street from the Dudley Station. Back then he liked working with kids, but now kids are too much trouble for him because of his age. Mr. Smith worked with one boy at the Boys Club. He thought that the boy was going to be a doctor because he enjoyed studying the human body and science. “He did not follow through with his school work though.” This really disappointed Mr. Smith.

            He told me a little about the history of Dudley Station. He said that Dudley Station was a trolley station before it became a bus station. “There used to be a whole lot of white people in the Roxbury area before most of the black race moved in. There were only 5 black kids attending the whole club. There was no racism or anything in the club because there were no blacks around.”  He explained that he thought he wanted to be a big businessman that ran to work every morning. He really did not want that kind of job though. He really wanted to help boys with their problems. So he did.


            Mr. Smith lives in Boston where he spent most of his life. He owns two houses in Boston and one in New York. Mr. Smith is a retired man. He spends his time in his garden, which was really beautiful until old man winter came by. Right now Mr. Smith gets paid for his retirement. The money he gets paid with he puts back into the Boys & Girls Club’s of Boston and his garden. Right now, all of his kids take care of him and the bills.

            Mr. Smith does not have any problems with his body. His doctor, Dr. Stanley, says that he is in good health. The reason for his good condition is possibly because he never smoked or did drugs. The only problem Mr. Smith has is that he does not have any teeth. “I think the reason why most of my teeth fell out was because I ate a lot of candy when I was younger and I never brushed my teeth the right way,” he said. Then he said, "Any way, all old peoples teeth fall out.”

            Well, Mr. Smith looks forward to seeing me pass high school and go to college and not failing or putting off my schoolwork until another day. He also looks forward to seeing the Boston Public School System do more things for the students of Boston. He looks forward to seeing every student of Boston growing up to be someone when they get older. He wants to know a teen or child who becomes a doctor so if he’s sick he could go to his friend for help and he won’t have to pay the bill.

            Mr. Smith and I both have something in common. Mr. Smith likes to make garden beds and plant flowers and I like to plant and clean up gardens and make them safe for the insects in the soil. I admire the people in the army for what they do and did and because they are brave and fearless. Mr. Smith was in the army for two years.

            In conclusion, this whole interview was a look at a man's life and what he did and what his living conditions are right now. Mr. Smith is a great, wise, and smart elderly person, who is in good health, and has no teeth, but still has a great smile. Thank you Mr. Smith.

 

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