Unlimited Free Space: Comprehensive Waterfront Plan
| David |
It's just so structured now. |
| Ly |
They'll have signs sayin' "beware everywhere of this," "be careful of this," "don't jump in the water." |
| David |
People who have won't wanna give up what they have. They probably worked a lifetime to get what they have and probably wouldn't wanna give up their space. |
| VJ |
But when you say they and the police - when you say they will do this or the police will come in - do you see any possibility for influencing what they decide or what the authorities say. Or do you feel like it's totally up to them? Whoever that is - |
| David |
No. Because they are institutions and governments. And also, if you break it down to an individual basis: like I myself, if I worked hard all my life and was able to achieve great wealth and bought a big piece of land and a private home on private property, I would probably - I mean, not me personally, but, I'm speaking for individuals who have attained such success - they probably won't want just anybody wandering over their lawn. |
| Ly |
Or taking over their property, like some governments do. Remember that house? |
| David |
Yeah. |
| Ly |
They wanted to build a railroad. |
| David |
I forget what the term for that is. But a friend of my brother's bought a property - a house, a whole property - and the local government is putting a railroad that's going straight through his lawn and they don't have to really take care of him financially or anything and there's like a term for it. A legal term. I forget. But they just have the right to take the land... This is in Massachusetts. I don't know if they have the same laws here... It's really upsetting to the guy who bought the home. Meanwhile the whole community might be happy because they don't have to go to the next town over to catch a train. So the community as a whole probably wants the train. But it's just a few who decide... |
| USI |
Have you had any encounters wandering the waterfront or, the city in general? |
| David |
This morning when I woke up, I opened the gate and I was still a little tired and I didn't have all my batteries going but somehow some guy had slipped through the gate and was out on the pier and undetected by me. And then he walked back and I saw him and I thought what's he doin' here? And he had found a hammer, a big hammer, and all of a sudden he whipped it out at me and I was like, "Oh, my God! What the hell's gonna happen here?" But, he actually handed over the hammer and he said that he was on parole and he had already done time and he didn't want any trouble and maybe he thought I was authority or somethin'. And in the same instant I was thinkin' "Oh, my God! I'm gonna get jumped here." So, even on a smaller scale here, my space was invaded by this guy. I totally was - you guys are welcome. I was so happy to have some company because we were here by ourselves all day. But this guy wasn't somebody that I would care to have walking through. When he whipped out a ballpeen hammer, I was like, "Oh, Jesus!" |
| VJ |
Do you have the hammer? |
| David |
Yeah, I just put it - I was just shocked - it's over there. |
| VJ |
We should photograph the hammer because then we could attach a story to the hammer. |
| ND |
And then he went off? |
| David |
Yeah. He was kind of- He was out there. He carried on so many different scenes. He told me how he had been in and out of prison a couple times. And he was on parole. And then he went on to tell me how he was in love with a man. He once was in love with a man but, he knew it wasn't right. And then he said he was out here lookin' for sex because he knew some people that used to hang out there on the pier. That's why he was there. That's what he said. He was all over the place. I could see him now. I was like, OK! We'll talk again some time. |
| ND |
You talked for a while? |
| David |
I didn't do much talking. He did all the talking. I just nodded my head and tried to stay with him. He was all over the place. |
| ND |
Then he gave you the hammer? |
| David |
Yeah, he did. He gave me the hammer. |
| VJ |
So now you have a hammer? |
| David |
I think he was gonna steal the hammer. Like: now I have the power! |
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Modified December 23, 1997