In this month’s Video Extras, we chat with storyteller Richard Barr. Richard first stepped on the Better Said Than Done stage as a first-time teller in September 2013 and has been back to share his stories many more times.
Richard is providing commentary on his story from our November 2014 show, Leftovers: stories about gluttony, forgotten things, and do overs. Watch his story below and then read on to learn more about the story behind the story. And don’t miss Richard in our next show, Earth, Wind, and Fire: elemental stories, on March 21, at the Walker Nature Center in Reston.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F0rg8ZVTGU&w=560&h=315] Mary: Having told about a dozen stories on stage now, have you settled into a routine for how you develop a story that you will perform?Richard: First, since the stories have to be personal and true, I have to find a memory that fits the topic. Fortunately, I’m old enough to have a good selection to choose from. With a core anecdote in hand, I then have to put it in context, so I start telling myself the story. And, once I know the story, I have to cut it down to a manageable size. For this story, I told it to myself over and over while driving, in the shower, and during every other free moment.
Mary: Did the story change much as you prepared?
Richard: The facts are what they are. I tinkered with how much description to use and of what. Most important then – and always – is the final sentence that somehow gives the story weight and importance.
I could have said more about my job and the psychology of weapons, but the thing I wanted most to say and didn’t was the reason for LeFrak’s decline. But, I wasn’t a part of it, and didn’t want to turn my story into a rant.
Mary: Was it difficult to adjust to living in the Big Apple having grown up in Texas?
Richard: I was in Texas from ages 2 to 15, and in South Carolina from 15 to 20. But, I’ve always been adaptable. I was surprised to see how parochial New Yorkers were. Coming from small towns, I knew a wider world existed; New Yorkers didn’t.
Mary: Had you been to New York before you moved there?
Richard: A friend and I drove to the Montreal World’s Fair in ’67, stopping off in New York on the way up and the way back. It was a trip as wild and crazy as I get. Maybe I’ll tell that story sometime.
Mary: Why did you decide to join the LeFrak City police force while you were waiting for your civil service appointment?
Richard: I had been working as a store detective. We had a director who wanted to fire the entire staff in order to bring in his own people. When he fired a good friend of mine for a trumped up reason, I looked for another job and found LeFrak.
Mary: When the man interviewing you said, “I see you were raised in Texas, so you know how to handle yourself,” what did you think he meant and what would like to have replied – had it not been a job interview?
Richard: When I first arrived in New York, I was stereotyped because of my accent, so I was not surprised to hear a remark of that nature. In another context, I might have suggested that judging individuals based on stereotypes is a personal mistake and a professional danger.
Mary: Of all of the interesting jobs you have held, which have you enjoyed the most?
Richard: I loved being a Customs Inspector. Every day brought new puzzles to solve, adventures, fascinating people, and opportunities to learn, and pretty much everybody treated me with respect. Consulting seemed more like a scam than a service; it was even worse than selling used cars. I wouldn’t want to do either of those again.
Mary: You explain in your story that the first rule of policing is that when an officer is on the scene, the officer has to be in control. You said, “Getting control and keeping it is the art of the job.” Can you explain this idea of the “art of the job” more?
Richard: When I hear about some of these police shootings, they make me sick. An officer has to read each situation and the individuals involved. People who are confronted by the police are often frightened and will react in unexpected ways. You have to provide witnesses and perpetrators alike the chance to vent and explain. Tell them you understand and sympathize. Never shout. It is not an officer’s job to judge or punish. My attitude was always: I will make this experience as pleasant as you allow me to make it.
Mary: You removed your hat to create a less authoritative and threatening profile when you entered the apartment. Where did you learn this?
Richard: I read it in some reference material. It made sense to me, and was certainly worth a shot.
Mary: And this is how you closed your story: “Sometimes, if you’re paying attention, all you have to do is take off your hat.” Why do you think that’s so important?
Richard: The hat was a metaphor, but certainly when cops show up with helmets and body armor, it doesn’t send a positive message. Very few mentally ill people are violent. Very few sober people are violent. Treat individuals like individuals. Figure out who they are and what they need.
Mary: Do you think this interaction might have been different had you been armed?
Richard: I don’t think the woman noticed I was unarmed when I entered her apartment. I had the utility belt with handcuff case and nightstick. I would not have drawn my weapon on her. She was emotional, not a street fighter, and I believed that I could subdue her if necessary.
Mary: Did you find out later what the other officers thought when they came in and the woman was there partially undressed?
Richard: No, I trusted they figured out the truth for themselves.
Mary: Did you respond to other dangerous situations while on the LeFrak City police force?
Richard: A few, but they were more conventional. We had to keep neighborhood street gangs off the property. Outnumbered and unarmed, I bluffed through incidents like that. I saved a man from an apartment fire by climbing from one balcony to another on the 11th floor.
Mary: Was this job your last foray in law enforcement?
Richard: No. I wanted to work for Customs, but under the rules for civil service, I had to accept any job offered. That’s how I spent 8 years with the Veterans Administration in Manhattan. Then, Customs had a hiring mandate and I transferred over for the next 20 years. I worked for Customs in Newark with regular trips to Regional HQ in the World Trade Center, and occasionally to JFK. After 4 years as an inspector, I went to DC to work in the Office of International Affairs and traveled the world. Then, I spent a few more years as a Customs program manager in DC.
