Part of the “Slice of Life Series” – Learning through the Human Experience

Project Statement: The Slice of Life Series offers short audio stories of people and how they end up in a place at a given time. Through the stories the hope is that listeners can learn about a location & a topic from the human experience as well as to bring current events back down to the voices of daily life.

A collaboration between a close grade school friend and I brought me to Rhode Island the Spring of 2011. While wandering the streets and towns during my down time, I crossed paths with a few interesting and kind people along the way. With a recorder and camera readily tucked in my backpack, I walked as much as I could, absorbing the movements happening in a specific time and space. These are some of the stories collected from my time spent in Providence and Newport, R.I. for the Slice of Life Series.

Map of the Stories

Listen To The Stories

Sid Abruzzi
Hometown: Newport, Rhode Island
“We had the small shack on the beach. We opened up in ’71 and at the time we sold surfboards. Skateboards really didn’t start happening till about ’73, ’74. We sold skateboards from clay wheels up.” 

Logan Hill
Hometown: Scotland
“We didn’t know anybody in the country and we just had skateboards and bottles of Scottish whisky and Scottish cookies like the shortbread stuff and these were just presents to give to people that we met and who took us in.” 

Dave Pickering
Hometown: Rhode Island
“I’m actually a retired school teacher. This is what I’m doing in my retirement. My father was actually a fisherman and he started me. I fish almost everyday so I’m very familiar with the area.” 

Lily Su
Hometown: Beijing, China
“Today I’m selling fetus soap that are oval in shape.” 

Acknowledgements

Special Thanks to my old time friend Frances Kao for hosting me while in Providence. Anne Wootton for all the travel tips in Rhode Island, Ray Stevens II for suggesting I make my way to Water Brothers Surf and Skate out in Newport, and much thanks to Dave Pickering, Logan Hill, Sid Abruzzi, and Lily Su for making their time to share their stories.

{posted 4 November 2011}