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Here is another audio portrait of the American life from StoryCors. This oral history project is traveling the country collecting stories of work, family and generations past and present.
John L. Black Sr. worked for nearly 30 years in the boiler1 room in Cincinnati's public schools. Recently, his son, Samuel Black, went to a StoryCorps booth to remember his father and here he tells his wife about his father's dedication2 to his job.
He worked late hours, especially in the wintertime ‘cause he had to keep the pipes from freezing. And working in the boiler room, it's burning up hot, and it's probably like over a hundred degrees down there.
Did he ever talk about what it was like to do that kind of work?
He didn't have to talk about it. Daddy would come home, tired to the bone every night when he would just fall out on the bed. And I remembered climbing on top of him and playing with his muscles, you know, whatever times when he would ask us to rub his feet. You know, back then, we hated it. I mean, he worked 16-hour days. And he took his socks off, you know, he asked you to rub his feet, you know, you hated to walk past his bedroom because he called you in there and asked you do that. But looking back on it, his body was probably killing3 him. And he was being soothed4 by his little boys. You know, working all those hours, he didn’t have time to discuss things. You had to get it right that time and that time only.
So he was a stern disciplinarian.
He was a very stern disciplinarian, sometime, he didn't have to do anything, but look at you, but you knew what that meant. For instance, I think I might have been about ten years old, me and a friend. Our goal was to get a 16-ounce root beer and potato chips. So we went hunting for pop bottles, you know, the pop bottles had a deposit on them, you take them back to store. And I didn't have enough to get my treat, so I decided5 to take some of the store's bottles, put them in my bag and then go out to the counter and turn them in as my own. So all of a sudden, I get this feeling that come over me, and I looked up, and standing6 in the window looking down at me was my father. And all he did was gave a finger motion to come here. So I just walked out of the store and he just said real quietly "Get home". And so I turned to start walking home as he's walked behind me. And it seemed like the Long March, you know. So we got home, and he asked me why did I do it? I told him all I need was a dime7, the chips cost a dime. And so he said the next time you need some money, you ask your mother. So I OK, OK, you know, and I wiped my tears and the things and I walked over to mama and asked " Mama, can I have a dime?" And she said "No".
And it wasn't until after he passed that I found out we had credit at that store. And so my going in there, stealing pop bottles, could have like ruined that whole relationship.
That’s Samuel Black, remembering his father John L. Black Sr. Samuel was interviewed in Pittsburgh by his wife Edda Fields-Black. This StoryCorps conversation, along with all the others, will be archived at the American Folklife Center with the Library of Congress. To learn how to record your story, visit NPR.org
Major funding for StoryCorps comes from the Cooperation for Public Broadcasting.
New Words and Expressions
disciplinarian n.（名词） One that enforces or believes in strict discipline. 执行纪律者，严格纪律信奉者
root beer 以黄樟油、冬青油为香料的无醇饮料
potato chips n.马铃薯片
pop bottle 柠檬水瓶, 充气饮料瓶
deposit n.押金, 保证金, 存放物, 堆积物, 沉淀物, 存款,
John L. Black Sr. worked for nearly 30 years in the boiler1 room in Cincinnati's public schools. Recently, his son, Samuel Black, went to a StoryCorps booth to remember his father and here he tells his wife about his father's dedication2 to his job.
He worked late hours, especially in the wintertime ‘cause he had to keep the pipes from freezing. And working in the boiler room, it's burning up hot, and it's probably like over a hundred degrees down there.
Did he ever talk about what it was like to do that kind of work?
He didn't have to talk about it. Daddy would come home, tired to the bone every night when he would just fall out on the bed. And I remembered climbing on top of him and playing with his muscles, you know, whatever times when he would ask us to rub his feet. You know, back then, we hated it. I mean, he worked 16-hour days. And he took his socks off, you know, he asked you to rub his feet, you know, you hated to walk past his bedroom because he called you in there and asked you do that. But looking back on it, his body was probably killing3 him. And he was being soothed4 by his little boys. You know, working all those hours, he didn’t have time to discuss things. You had to get it right that time and that time only.
So he was a stern disciplinarian.
He was a very stern disciplinarian, sometime, he didn't have to do anything, but look at you, but you knew what that meant. For instance, I think I might have been about ten years old, me and a friend. Our goal was to get a 16-ounce root beer and potato chips. So we went hunting for pop bottles, you know, the pop bottles had a deposit on them, you take them back to store. And I didn't have enough to get my treat, so I decided5 to take some of the store's bottles, put them in my bag and then go out to the counter and turn them in as my own. So all of a sudden, I get this feeling that come over me, and I looked up, and standing6 in the window looking down at me was my father. And all he did was gave a finger motion to come here. So I just walked out of the store and he just said real quietly "Get home". And so I turned to start walking home as he's walked behind me. And it seemed like the Long March, you know. So we got home, and he asked me why did I do it? I told him all I need was a dime7, the chips cost a dime. And so he said the next time you need some money, you ask your mother. So I OK, OK, you know, and I wiped my tears and the things and I walked over to mama and asked " Mama, can I have a dime?" And she said "No".
And it wasn't until after he passed that I found out we had credit at that store. And so my going in there, stealing pop bottles, could have like ruined that whole relationship.
That’s Samuel Black, remembering his father John L. Black Sr. Samuel was interviewed in Pittsburgh by his wife Edda Fields-Black. This StoryCorps conversation, along with all the others, will be archived at the American Folklife Center with the Library of Congress. To learn how to record your story, visit NPR.org
Major funding for StoryCorps comes from the Cooperation for Public Broadcasting.
New Words and Expressions
disciplinarian n.（名词） One that enforces or believes in strict discipline. 执行纪律者，严格纪律信奉者
root beer 以黄樟油、冬青油为香料的无醇饮料
potato chips n.马铃薯片
pop bottle 柠檬水瓶, 充气饮料瓶
deposit n.押金, 保证金, 存放物, 堆积物, 沉淀物, 存款,
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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2
dedication
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| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
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3
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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4
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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5
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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7
dime
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| n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角 | |
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