TRANSCRIPT

HH - Harry Harper, interviewee [with Ada Summers (AD) present] / LR - Lyn Royce interviewer [with Natalie Przybyl (NP) present]

HH: Well, uh, soon as I come home, I just took it easy for a coupla weeks and then uh, at that time, General Motors, but that time they called it McKinnons...

LR: Okay!

HH: ...on Ontario Street, I went down, I said, 'Well, let's see if I can get in there.' Because, uh, quite a few of the coloured fellas in the area worked in the foundry. And so I thought, well, I'll go down 'n try for that. So I went down, got all dressed up, shaved and everything, and when it was... Oh! and the cop. Had my car parked, I don't know if it mine, or I borrowed from somebody, had the car parked out there and I'm in a long line. Cop come by, motorcycle cop come by and he's got a stick. Broom stick or so long, he's got a piece of chalk tied to the end, and he's markin' the front wheels, of cars. And uh, in other words, you had to get in your car and move it. So he marked it, and so I asked the guy, I said, 'Now save my spot here, I'm comin' right back, I'm gonna move my car.' So I went out and got in my car and I looked at it, and here the mark is, you know, up so high up, and I moved the mark, moved the car so far ahead, the mark was down towards the road. But he happened to turn around look and see me. So he just wheeled around, come back, and I was gettin' outta the car. He said, uh, 'Didn't ya see the mark on your car?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'You're supposed to move it or pay a ticket.' I said, 'Well I did move it.' 'Wha-d-you mean you moved it?' I said, 'The mark was here wasn't it?' 'Yeah.' I said, 'Now it's down there. I moved the car.' [NP sniggering in background] He looked at me, never said a word, got ba, on his motorcycle and drove away. [group chuckles] So I went in, and, like I say, I was dressed up and everything, shaved, the whole works, and the guy that's takin' the interviews, he's settin' there, writing, he said, 'Have a seat, I'll be right with you.' So I set down; just set there; looked at the, a coupla pictures on the wall, and looked at his, his framed up there, whatever is, looked at them, I don't have to look at him, I can sit quiet; 2 minutes and then he start askin' me questions, wrote it all down. He said, 'Can you start tomorrow morning?' I say, 'Yes, sir.' That was it. Come out; in the meantime there was at least 15 guys ahead of me...

LR: Right.

HH: ...come out and everybody would ask, 'Did you get the job?' 'Naw, I don't think so, but they said they'd get in touch with us.' So when I come out, they said, 'Didya get the job?' I said, 'Yeah; he told me report in the morning.' 'How the hell did you get the job?!!? bleah, bleah,bleah...' I mean... You've gotta look presentable. You just don't go lookin', uh, gettin' all, you know, walk in there with your work clothes on, like you're gonna go to work in half an hour. And then you don't sit up there and light a cigarette or be lookin all, whe, choo, shoo, shoo, shoo... [taps fingers on table, suggesting impatience]

AS: He should write a book, right?!

LR: Yeah; it's true.

HH: This is it. I mean, you're tryin' to put yourself forward to them, not them to you. And so you've gotta go in there lookin' like you're confident, know what's goin' on.