Interview outtakes from THE WAR:
"The landlord's son on a visit from Waterbury told me about how easy it was to get a job in a defense factory, and there I was working in a gas station at $12 a week for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. And I said, 'OK, we'll give it a shot.' While looking for work, there was one memorable morning when I got on a bus, sat down next to a stra....somebody who turned to me and said, 'Good morning.' And I looked at him as if to say, 'Who are you to say good morning to me.' After all, I'm from Brooklyn, New York. But any rate, the impact was very great. The friendliness that I found in Waterbury was something I was not accustomed to. The difference, you know, I felt right away. I was barely 20 years old or whatever it was. And I just felt a difference that this was a very friendly place. I found a room at uh, some rooming house. So, uh, it was just a difference experience. You know, I've heard stories about why would anybody from New York City want to settle in...in a hick town. Well, it was to my liking. I liked what I saw, and Waterbury was a lot different then than it is today. And we stayed." |
