So I might have horribly miscategorized this, but I'll give it a shot.
The Columbian Association meeting was really fun. Just like the Emerald Society, everyone was really welcoming and friendly. Some differences I noticed: I think there were a couple of women at the Emerald Society meeting. From what I saw at the Columbian, and from what the guys told me, there weren't any women in their association. I'd assume there are some Italian-American women who work in sanitation and was curious why none were members of this association. The meeting at the Columbian ran a little shorter than the Emerald Society -- people did linger, but the Irish guys seemed to stick around a little longer at their meeting. (Except for me at the Columbian society -- Steve was late picking me up because of a huge pileup on the Whitestone Bridge, so I got to hang out with Jimmy until they were locking the front door and all but three guys had gone home!) Maybe it was just me, but the tone at the Columbian meeting seemed a little bit more serious than at the Emerald Society. Both groups were a lot of fun and had a great sense of humor, it just seemed like the tone was a bit more serious at the Columbian Association. Could just be personality differences in whoever's conducting, I guess.
The guys talked about marching in the Columbus Day Parade this weekend, and expressed a lot of pride both in being with Sanitation and in being Italian-Americans. There was a lot of focus on family feeling, family and friendly associations. I'd love to see the essays their kids are going to submit on "What it means to me to be an Italian-American" (cash prize: a $500 scholarship, and I also thought it was hilarious that the president cautioned against any parental essay writing or cut-and-pasting). I met a lot of guys who would refer me to one of their friends and say "you should interview him!" but of the three guys I asked, they all laughed wryly and said something like "no way -- too many stories" when I asked them if they'd want to be interviewed. They were all really open and friendly to talk to, though. A couple of my favorites were Jimmy, the cook, and Tony DeSantis, the past president. Jimmy was 20 years on the job in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and had some crazy stories about his experiences. (He also sent me home with extra meatballs :) He said this was new to him being portrayed as the good guy because "I'm used to looking like a bad guy. Don't I look like I should be on the Sopranos? Bada-bim!" He also played on a Sanitation softball team and met John DeLury at a softball awards ceremony (if I remember right). Tony invited my husband (Steve) and me to his house on Staten Island -- he was also really engaging to talk to.
Comments (1)
Elaine - well said! I definitely felt more like the outsider at this meeting than with the Emeralds. There was probably the same amount of ego-bashing and inside jokes, but they were less public and more amongst small groups. As you remarked, the Columbians seemed much more serious, and Ronny Cohen, the current President, seemed to be constantly referring back to family values and pride in being an Italian-American, where as this seemed much more of an unspoken sensibility with the Emeralds.
What was most interesting at this meeting was the kinds of information people were offering up. The Emeralds seemed more concerned with buddying up with us, whereas the Columbians (well the few that I talked to) actually told us what kinds of physical "stuff" they had that should go in the museum, what they thought the museum should be about, and how to get the ball rolling with bigger picture stuff (getting permissions from city officials, etc.). There were also several gentlemen who happily regaled us with snippits of stories about 9/11, which was both deeply fascinating and incredibly sad. I can't remember names, but if these guys agree to be interviewed, it would be a huge boon to our project!!
My favorite part of the evening was once dinner commenced, the younger gentleman at my table began trading pictures they took on their cell phones of various accidents they had been in with their collection trucks. These photos collections were pretty impressive, but also revealing in that it showed just how dangerous this job is, particularly for this group of rookies (only 2-3 yrs on the job).
In a sense, I felt this meeting was more valuable in terms of the kinds of information we have access to, and the diversity of jobs that the members do for the DSNY.
Posted by Jackie | October 3, 2007 4:31 PM
Posted on October 3, 2007 16:31