Allen B. works at the VA Medical Center in Albany. He's an even-tempered veteran, with a hearty laugh and raspy voice. Allen works with my father. When I walk through the small waiting room past two patients, I spot Allen, finishing the last bite of his lunch. Greeting me with a smile, he directs me across the way to an absent co-worker’s office. On one of the buttercup- yellow walls hangs a painting of George Washington, and a colonial period thirteen- star flag, blowing in the wind. As I fumble with my tape recorder, Allen offers me the comfy chair and takes the one with less padding.What military branch were you in?
I was in the Air Force. I was a Teletype Communications Specialist. We typed and sent messages from base to base. [Ambulance sirens wail] We typed and relayed military messages, some were classified and we had to encrypt them.
Oh really?
We had different processes of encryption. We had “confidential” to “eyes only.” It was: “confidential,” “secret,” “top secret,” and “eyes only.” You had to be cleared for it.
Being cleared, that sounds intense. How long did you serve in the Air Force?
Three years, eight months.
Three years in the Air Force, whoa. How did it change your life?
I quit high school when I was 17, and signed up for the Air Force. When I got there I was sent to Teletype Communications School. I learned all of the rules and regulations. You needed to type 40 words per minute in order to graduate which I did. It allowed me to learn a trade before, I only had delivery and after school jobs. I went from a teenager to being a responsible young man. It taught me how to get along different people.
Did you have experience interacting with different people when you were growing up? Where did you grow up?
I grew up in New York City. I was born in Warrenton, Georgia, and came to New York when I was five.
What were the differences?
We lived in the country, where everything was carefree, and there was a lot of space. We had fields, gardens, and we grew our own food. One of the things that struck me was the things I had to buy living in the city. [He starts laughing] I had to buy fruit and I was shocked, because I was like, I could have picked this myself! Everything is congested; people living on top of you, next to you. But I went from a segregated society to a non-segregated society. I never had experienced it because I was only five, but I knew it because of how people reacted. I remember my mother brought me on the bus when I was young, and I sat wherever I wanted to. I sat next to a white gentleman and he talked and laughed with me. I remember that because I was going against the, rule. But I didn’t care.
You said you knew the difference by how people reacted. What did you mean by that?
I would go back South when they were trying to desegregate schools and they would always ask me how I felt about going to school with white kids. I was like, there’s no difference. Eventually they desegregated schools and then, when I went back to visit, I wasn’t special anymore. [Laughs]
So was this the same feeling in the city?
There was never any real problem. In the city everyone stayed in their neighborhoods. You had black neighborhoods, Italians in the Italian neighborhood, Irish in the Irish neighborhood, and the Jewish in the Jewish neighborhoods; there were invisible boundaries. There were gangs, they would fight each other, but you could stop in the neighborhood if you knew someone.
Is the invisible boundary still there, or has it disappeared?
It seems to have gotten better, but it’s still not as outward as it was before. Generally it’s just the fear of something you have no knowledge of. We’re still fighting for true equality. People say it takes time. I’ve been hearing that since I was a little kid, and here it is 50 years later, and it’s the same thing. So how long is it going to take? People still use that as an excuse. As long as no one does anything detrimental to me or my family, I let it go.
Is there a motto that you live by?
Yes, I learned it very young from my parents: “Treat others like you want to be treated.” By treating people the way I want to be treated it’s like not burning bridges behind you. Then if you run into people 5 or 10 years down the road, they greet you with a smile on their face.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can also get along with people that others can’t get along with. I’m always weary of people who force themselves on me, and I don’t force myself on anyone. Maybe reading people is my hidden talent.
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