
Or a journalist?
And you thought you were out of luck! You thought you were out of money – I didn’t. That’s why the money came back to me and I bought some new equipment.
Where were you making the money?
I worked at a local newspaper called The Morning Call in Oakland, California. We were part of the local newsroom. It was in this huge office building that was a lot of fun. It was just like a newspaper room, with a giant television in the middle of the room. We printed all our articles there. I worked on stories about local people and I was making a couple of bucks a day that way. But that’s all.
What were you doing at night?
I was working as a reporter, too. I was working as a reporter who covered police brutality and other police issues. I could go to work and not actually have to go to work, but it would still feel like work.
Why weren’t you in a TV studio?
I did my reporting at the newspaper, but I didn’t have to go into the actual studio. It was all just like a room full of TV cameras hanging off the wall. I was working in a room with a TV set, and sometimes, if I wasn’t in the room, people would come in and shoot their stuff. I’m not sure when it was, but I’m positive it lasted, because I was in and out in record time.
What did those cops think of you?
In those days, we called cops the “N-word.” People called us Nigger Dogs or “Niggers.” And we really had a bad attitude. All the time, we would be walking to our cars, taking our breaks and coming back from cars. And I always had on a hat. I had a hat.
That was bad. But if you look at me now, I’m getting a little older…
You look like a man in his fifties.
But I don’t want that attention. They got to look and be able to laugh. If they need a smile, they can still go ahead and give me a frown.
But people kept calling me a Nigger Dog, so I just let it go. But people kept calling me “Johnny,” even when I was wearing a hat. I mean, what kind of nickname is that?
How come?
Well, it could be
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