
On today’s episode, I walk with four strangers who share their unique perspectives on the working lives of New Yorkers.
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Tharaya
Excuse me. Excuse me. Do you have a moment, by any chance? Do you have a moment, by any chance for what? I do this series called Can I walk with you? I do this walking this series for my podcast where I ask people if I could walk with them and have a conversation. Yeah, I was wondering if I could walk with you. Is it okay if I walk with you? Is that all right? Are you okay with that? Yeah. Are you okay with it being recorded?
Antonio
So you recording me right now? What's so different about me?
Tharaya
You just seem cool. When you were, like, you came up to your friend.
Antonio
What's the podcast called?
Tharaya
Can I walk with you? Yeah. Yeah. Can I clip this on for you?
Justin
Sure.
Tharaya
Do you mind if I clip it on up here? Can I clip it on for you?
Olivia
Yes.
Tharaya
And then can I clip it on for you? Yeah. Cool. Which way are you walking? That way.
Unnamed Transporter
I'm going to dmv.
Tharaya
You're going to the dmv?
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah.
Tharaya
Okay.
Unnamed Transporter
Olivia.
Tharaya
Olivia? Yeah. I'm Tharaya. Nice to meet you. Thanks for doing this.
Unnamed Transporter
Okay.
Tharaya
Thanks for doing this.
Antonio
Ain't no problem, man.
Tharaya
You just gave off such a good energy. When was that, your friend? When you, like, went up to all of them? Yeah.
Antonio
Everybody knows me.
Tharaya
Oh, really? Why is that?
Antonio
I'm a maintenance guy.
Tharaya
Oh, okay.
Antonio
I do plumbing, electric, all of that.
Tharaya
Do you like it? Do you enjoy it?
Antonio
Oh, I love it. I love the plumbing. You know, you got to use your mind and everything to knowing what you got to do with the pipes. You know, like, anybody could throw new pipes up, but it's fixing up.
Tharaya
That's where you got it, and that's what you do. You fix it.
Antonio
Yeah, I'm a troubleshooter, you know?
Tharaya
What made you decide to do this?
Unnamed Transporter
I got nothing to do.
Tharaya
You're walking anyways. Yeah, walking.
Unnamed Transporter
Anyway.
Tharaya
What were you thinking about right before I came up to you?
Justin
I mean, I just, like, got off from work, so I was, like, kind of thinking about it.
Tharaya
Okay. What do you do?
Justin
I'm a mitigation specialist. I do, like, criminal defense work.
Tharaya
Okay. That sounds intense.
Justin
Yeah, it's quite intense. I just started.
Tharaya
What's your name?
Olivia
My name is Justin.
Tharaya
I'm Tharayah. Nice to meet you.
Olivia
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
Tharaya
Thanks for doing this.
Olivia
Hey, no problem. No problem.
Tharaya
Can you tell me a little bit.
Olivia
About yourself from Florida?
Tharaya
Okay.
Olivia
I've been here in New York five years now. My hometown is Jacksonville, Florida. A lot of people don't know it's one of the biggest cities, land wise.
Tharaya
Oh, really?
Olivia
So it's bigger than New York land wise?
Tharaya
Oh, okay.
Olivia
Yes.
Antonio
A lot of the buildings that we work in are like 100 years old and better, you know what I'm saying? So when they that old, you got to really, really, you know, know what you're doing in them. And you got to. Because there's different pipes in there. You got main water lines that are coming up and you know, you got to cut the pipe just precisely and you know, if not, you got problemas.
Tharaya
Can you tell me, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Unnamed Transporter
Oh, I'm from Guyana, South America.
Tharaya
Oh, okay.
Unnamed Transporter
I'm from South America. I came to this country 53 years ago.
Tharaya
Wow, okay.
Unnamed Transporter
53 years ago. I went to school, college, now work at a hospital as a transporter for body. Put dead bodies in body bags.
Tharaya
Wait, can you say that again?
Unnamed Transporter
I do body bags with dead people.
Tharaya
What is that job called?
Unnamed Transporter
Barbie tenant.
Tharaya
Oh, you do that now?
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah.
Tharaya
Is that hard?
Unnamed Transporter
No. You got accustomed to be doing it so it don't bother me. They can't talk back to you, they can't hit you, so they're just there.
Justin
But I got assigned to like a pretty publicized case and I'm still trying to like process it.
Tharaya
Can you talk about it or is it not allowed?
Justin
I think I can, yes.
Tharaya
Okay. Do you mind telling us what it is? Yeah.
Justin
There was this boy, he killed his mom. And obviously he's been through so much. He was like put in foster care when he was three because he was left alone with no food and the gas stoves on. So he was like kind of bouncing around from foster homes, juveniles psyche and obviously had a very complicated relationship with his mom. But now he is incarcerated. So I'm trying to kind of humanize him a bit because he has so many circumstances going into that.
Olivia
So tell me about yourself.
Tharaya
My name is Tharaya. Uh huh. I'm from San Diego. I just come to New York to film this series. I feel like you could get to know a person pretty well if you just walk with them.
Olivia
Absolutely right? Absolutely.
Tharaya
Do you agree with that?
Olivia
100%? Yeah, 100%.
Tharaya
I feel like it's in the way you're describing is it's like art.
Antonio
It is, you know, believe it or not, it's like DNA. Like everything in life, you know, everything has a process to it. So does this, you know, like I tell people a lot of times that I go to do a pipe or clog something, you know, I could tell. I tell them, okay, this is what you did. They look at me. They'd be like, how?
Tharaya
You know?
Antonio
I said, trust me. You know, like, you know, a lot of plumbers that tell them put Drano, liquid Drano into the pipes. Now I tell them never do that. And they ask why? I said, well, liquid Drano is acid. Are you going to put acid inside your system to clean you out?
Tharaya
Interesting.
Antonio
So they go, no. I said, it's the same thing with the pipes. You try to clean them out, only thing you're doing is making holes in them, you know. Oh, but the plumbers before you told me that, I said, you want to know why? They go, why? I said, because when that pipe break.
Tharaya
Who you gonna call?
Antonio
So an eight dollar jar of Drano will run you three grand because you gotta open up the wall, fix the pipes. Yeah.
Tharaya
You know, so you're doing it for the right reasons. You actually care about the people.
Antonio
Oh, I love the job. That's what it is.
Tharaya
So how long have you been doing that for?
Unnamed Transporter
22 years.
Tharaya
22 years. Was it ever hard? Like in the beginning, was it hard?
Unnamed Transporter
Kind of scary. Scary for us it was kind of scary. But after a while, nothing bothered me. I put them in the, in his cold freezer, take them out, the funeral home, come to get them, give them to them, and that's it.
Antonio
I love the job. You know, the main thing about these work is troubleshooting. You know, you try to make it easier and better where it lasts a long time. You know, there's a lot of times that it's not going to last, so you got to do your job, you know. But the majority of times it's like they just sent me to do an electric job. So he's like, find out. He said the switch isn't working or nothing, but it was. The piece that they had in it had damaged, so I had to buy a new one. So now I. It'll cost the guy maybe $60 for my labor, plus the parts and everything.
Tharaya
You know, that's what you're going to.
Antonio
Do now instead of doing a 300 job in electric.
Tharaya
So as soon as someone passes away, they bring the body to you.
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah, I go get it.
Tharaya
You go get it?
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah. I work in the hospital, so I go get it, bring it down, put in the freezer.
Tharaya
Wow. I could never do that.
Unnamed Transporter
No, no, it sounds good. It's nice.
Tharaya
It's nice.
Unnamed Transporter
They don't talk back to you? You don't talk back to them? You talk to them? Yeah, they don't listen. What the heck?
Tharaya
Do you ever talk?
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah, hey, buddy, what you doing? Are you a girl? Are you a boy?
Tharaya
I got nothing to do. Wow.
Unnamed Transporter
If I talk to them, but they don't talk back, then that would be the problem. If they talk back.
Tharaya
If they talk back, you won't be seeing me here. Has anything scary ever happened? Because I've heard, like, sometimes even when people are dead, they, like, move.
Unnamed Transporter
They don't reflect. You can always get back up. So that's why they keep them on the floor for, like, four to five hours before they bring them down.
Tharaya
So has that never happened, though, where, like, someone was announced that and then they weren't?
Unnamed Transporter
Not in my chief.
Justin
It's. It's very difficult because it's obviously quite horrible what happened, Right?
Tharaya
Yeah. It's interesting. I'm always, like, the person when someone's like, oh, this person is bad. I'm always like, well, there's always a reason. Like, you know, good people can do bad things. But is it. I don't know. I feel like you have a very extreme case of that. Yeah. Is it hard to, like. Maybe I don't even know how to.
Justin
Reconcile personal feelings with the work. Yeah, it's definitely hard, but I think I return to this value and belief of, like, nobody should be locked up. And I really believe in, like, strong abolitionist values. So I think that people need care and support and help, and obviously this guy does, rather than to be locked up. Because I don't think being locked up and incarcerated brings about true healing or transformation. So I think returning to that value helps me kind of reconcile the. The difficult feelings I might have, too, when I hear about a case like this. Yeah, right.
Antonio
You know, so you look out for the people, you know, you really take care of them, and they take care of you. You know what I'm saying? You keep the job.
Tharaya
Do you think that's rare?
Antonio
Yeah, it is rare here because you got a lot of thieves. You know, I was just telling him, I said, man, you got too many thieves out here. You know, they want to rob everybody for everything. You know, to me, it's not right. You know, you're gonna do a job, do it appropriately, do it right, you know, work with the people, you know? But a lot of people don't think about tomorrow. They think about this today.
Tharaya
What makes you have that perspective? You think it's the way you were raised, or is it just in you?
Antonio
It's got to be, like, the way you were raised. And, you know, my dad and my family, you know, they did a lot of plumbers, mechanics, and Stuff like that. This is my section. I'm gonna get off right over here. That's the building. I gotta.
Tharaya
That one right there. I wish our walk could have been. I really, really enjoyed. I know it was a short walk, but, like, you just gave me a new perspective, I think.
Antonio
Thank you, then. I'm sorry that it's a short walk. I mean, I wish. I wish it was more, you know. So I got to go across.
Tharaya
Are you still going that way?
Unnamed Transporter
No, I'm going up.
Tharaya
Are you in a hurry?
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah, I want to go before they close.
Tharaya
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, like, on a deeper level? Not like. Not just where you're from and what you do, but, like, who are you?
Olivia
Who am I on a deeper level? You saying on a deeper level? I'm a kind, generous, outgoing person, you know, trying to see. Trying to see. Trying to see. Trying to see.
Tharaya
So you don't. You. You don't think anyone should be locked up?
Justin
No, no.
Tharaya
Have you always had that belief?
Justin
Definitely not. Yeah, I don't think we're trained to have this belief.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Justin
I think a lot of the uprisings in 2020, like, with black Lives Matter, really radicalized me in that way. So I think I've definitely grown into these values over the years.
Tharaya
Yeah, it wasn't like a gradual thing. It was more so like, just like 2020. That made you have that new perspective. Yeah.
Justin
And I guess, like, my own family background, like, I come from. My mom is a Cambodian refugee. Like, being put into this establishment, them and seeing how much harm they've experienced also has shaped my kind of values as well.
Tharaya
Are you scared of people judging you for trying to humanize them?
Justin
No, not really. I think it's important. Right.
Tharaya
Thanks for sharing that. I do want to know more about you, though. If someone were to ask you, like, who are you, aside from what you do, what would you say?
Justin
Oh, that's a good question.
Tharaya
I love waiting for people to think about it, too.
Olivia
Yeah. Yeah. So give me an example of what people say. Yeah. About you, about yourself, about me.
Tharaya
Who am I?
Olivia
Yeah, who are you?
Tharaya
I mean, this is why I like asking this question is. Cause I think I'm trying to figure out who I am, too.
Olivia
Trump Steel Jail. I agree. I agree 100%.
Justin
I'm just somebody that's trying to figure out life, truly. I feel like New York has been a place where I understood, like, my political values more, but I don't know, I'm just somebody that, like, cares very deeply about people and, like, not Just like my work, but like my friends, my family, my community.
Tharaya
The first time someone asked me, it was an older gentleman. And I told him, I'm just trying to figure it out. And I followed it up by saying, I'm not sure why that's still my answer because, like, you know, I'm older. And he responded with, because he was much older than me. He was like, that is always going to be your answer. Like, you're always going to try to figure out who you are. I think that's what life's all about.
Olivia
Absolutely. You know, I agree with you 100%.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm still trying to figure it out.
Justin
Yeah. Yeah. I really think life is just figuring everything out and uncertain, and then there are probably moments where we think we have it figured out, but then run into something again, and then a new chapter where we have to keep figuring out.
Tharaya
Is there anything you think you have figured out?
Justin
Yes. I think since moving to New York, I've developed amazing female friendships, and they have taught me what community means, what it is to be really cared and loved. In that sense, I feel like I figured out relationships in that platonic way. That is the only part of my life right now I feel like is solid.
Tharaya
I mean, that's a good thing to have figured out. I feel like a lot of people search for that their whole lives.
Justin
Yeah.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
But I do know that as a human being, I do want to, like, improve, elevate, you know, get better every day. Life is about, you know, progress, you know, elevation. So I have my granddad and my dad, and they. Those two raised me my whole life, so I just want to, you know, make them proud. Most importantly, my grandmother, too, as well. I lost her when I was 8 years old. I want to make her proud, too, as well.
Tharaya
One of my favorite questions I like to ask people on the walk. I feel like it's. There's really no question you could ask someone that makes you get to know them super fast. But I feel like this one gets as close as you could get. Okay, what's something I wouldn't believe about you?
Justin
Oh.
Tharaya
That you're willing to put on the Internet?
Justin
I'm trying to think.
Olivia
I'm asking. I'm kind of nervous a little bit.
Tharaya
Are you? I can't even.
Olivia
You can't even tell. A lot of people say that, but I do. I am kind of nervous, but.
Tharaya
Because of the conversation or because it's being recorded?
Olivia
Yeah, because it's a. Being recorded.
Tharaya
Okay. I Mean, I always tell people, at the end, you could choose for it not to go up. That's always an option.
Olivia
Okay.
Tharaya
Yeah. It's all about the walk and the conversation. And at the end, you could be like, you know, I enjoyed that. But.
Olivia
Okay. Okay.
Tharaya
Can you not post it? But I think. I personally think you're doing great.
Olivia
You think I'm doing good?
Tharaya
I don't think.
Olivia
I don't think I'm doing good.
Tharaya
Oh, my God.
Olivia
I mean, I'm not, like, you know.
Tharaya
No, no.
Justin
Oh, okay. I'm fine sharing this. I'm fine sharing this. When I was at Columbia, they had snacks in the cafeteria.
Tharaya
Okay.
Justin
I would just steal them. I would just steal them. I was paying so much tuition already, I was like, why are they charging us for candy bars? And just snag them off? But it was a pretty common thing, so it's not anything crazy.
Tharaya
That's why I love that question. Your answer, overall, just told me more about you than your actual answer.
Justin
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What else? I feel like that was not good.
Tharaya
I think that was. That was a cute little one.
Justin
Let me think. I have a black belt.
Tharaya
Oh, okay.
Justin
Yeah, I used to do martial arts a lot when I was younger, but I feel like in America, you just buy it. Like, you pay for the lessons. They just give you the belt each time.
Tharaya
Wow. You just impressed me and took it back. I'm just joking. I'm still impressed. Do you feel a little more safe walking around knowing that you.
Justin
Definitely not. I don't know how useful it is anymore. If I were to be attacked, maybe I could hold them off, like, for a second longer.
Tharaya
You never know. That second could save your life.
Justin
Yeah. Yeah.
Olivia
But I'm glad that I'm doing this with you because this is kind of breaking me up. Kind of glad that I am doing this.
Tharaya
What is it that scares you, though? You said, like, when you feel like you're being shy, like, what are you scared of?
Olivia
I don't know. Like, I just always been like that as a kid, and it just stuck with me. But, you know, I do a good job of hiding it, though.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
A lot of people tell me I do a good job of hiding it. It's like, boy, you ain't a lot of people. Like, boy, you ain't shy. You ain't nervous. You ain't. I guess I don't want nobody to say see it, you know? But, yeah, I definitely like what you're doing.
Tharaya
Would you ever want to do something like this that.
Olivia
That could help me Break out of.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
You know, being shy.
Tharaya
Exactly. Challenges go up to strangers.
Olivia
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's what I, I'm trying to do. Trying to be like you.
Tharaya
I think you're doing a good job.
Olivia
I'm trying to be like you.
Tharaya
Thank you.
Olivia
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tharaya
It is true though. The more you do it, the more.
Olivia
You'Ll get out of that stage.
Tharaya
Exactly.
Olivia
So, so what, what made you want to start this?
Tharaya
I was just very, very deeply curious about people. I, I knew that like everyone had a story to tell and I wanted to hear it.
Justin
Like in this project, have you like encountered any like, kind of scary people?
Tharaya
Surprisingly scary? No, I, I think I already said this, but I've been doing this for seven years. I met over 100,000 people and I always tell.
Justin
100,000?
Tharaya
Yes. And I always tell people like, it made me have so much more hope in people. I've never felt like my life was threatened.
Justin
Right.
Tharaya
You know? Yeah. I wonder what that is. Maybe if we like kind of let go of being okay with people seeing that. Yeah, that's true. Who cares if people notice that we're being shy or awkward?
Olivia
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. You just gotta let it go. Cause then you would never, you would never elevate in life because you caring about what someone else thinks.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
And that's just setting you back from elevator.
Tharaya
Yeah. That's how we started this conversation.
Olivia
Right. Exactly.
Tharaya
Full circle.
Olivia
Exactly, full circle. It's just setting you back. So we eventually have to grow out of it.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Olivia
We gotta get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Tharaya
There you go. Hell yeah.
Olivia
That's the key.
Tharaya
Yep.
Justin
I think working as a therapist, which is like my part time work has really like.
Tharaya
Oh, you work as a therapist.
Justin
Yeah.
Tharaya
Yeah. I thought you told me earlier that you, you were going to therapy.
Justin
I assured you I work as a therapist part time.
Tharaya
Oh, okay.
Justin
Yeah. Yeah. I think that work has changed me a lot. And like, I think people think of therapy as like one way. Right. Where it's like a person getting support. But actually I've learned a lot through my clients. Some of them are really like amazing, resilient people in the session. I'm like learning so much from their stories. It's awesome to do in New York because you meet all kinds of characters, maybe kind of similar to what you're doing.
Tharaya
Yeah. I was about to say, I feel like you probably have a good idea of what I do.
Justin
Yeah. Yeah. Maybe not to that extent, but.
Tharaya
No, I feel like wise not to work. And then the last question. I like to wrap it up with is, if you could leave my audience with one message, what would it be?
Justin
We take chances. I think a lot of the times we hold ourselves back out of fear, out of anxiety, out of, like, just, like, uncertainty. But sometimes we miss out on, like, really beautiful opportunities, whether that's like making a new friend, really cool job opportunities. So I think taking chances is, like, something I'm really testing in New York, that I, like, encourage people to do that. And maybe my last best words is free Palestine.
Olivia
If I can leave one message, I would say to never give up on what you believe in and to keep the faith. If you believe in it, you know you can achieve it.
Tharaya
If you could leave my audience with.
Antonio
One last message, Just be fair in life. Be true to yourself and you can be true to others. You want somebody to treat you properly, you got to do it to them.
Tharaya
Has life been fair to you?
Antonio
No, it has not. But you got to make the best of it.
Tharaya
Okay? Okay. Well, I really appreciate you giving me the time that you had. Do you have any last messages for my audience?
Unnamed Transporter
Not really. You're a good person to talk to.
Tharaya
You're an amazing person to talk to. Thank you so much.
Unnamed Transporter
You're welcome, my dear.
Tharaya
I hope you have a good rest of your day.
Unnamed Transporter
Yeah, I'm going to sleep.
Tharaya
You're going to go to sleep? Yeah, because we work night. Yeah. There you go. Thank you so much.
Olivia
I really appreciate it.
Tharaya
Thank you. What was your name?
Antonio
Antonio. So honored to meet you.
Tharaya
You too.
Olivia
That sounds good.
Tharaya
Thank you so much.
Olivia
Nice to meet you, brother. You're doing a great job. No problem, no problem.
Tharaya
Do you want to see where this episode is going? Do you want to watch it? Okay. This is the series. It's called Can I Walk with youh?
Unnamed Transporter
Oh, I see that thing already.
Tharaya
You've seen them. Well, thanks for watching them. If you search my name, Thorayah, you'll find me. You'll find it again. If you didn't say it, if there.
Unnamed Transporter
Was any comment, it would say, hi, guys.
Tharaya
Olivia.
Unnamed Transporter
If I see you, I put on the comments. I put, hi, it's Olivia. If I picture come up, it'll cake.
Tharaya
Okay, leave a comment and then I'll like it and I'll comment back. Okay, thank you. Are you on Instagram or Tick Tock? Which ones?
Unnamed Transporter
I look through everything.
Tharaya
Both of them. Opposite one. Both.
Unnamed Transporter
Okay.
Tharaya
Okay.
Unnamed Transporter
Okay.
Tharaya
Okay. Bye.
Unnamed Transporter
Show my friend. Hey, I got a friend.
Tharaya
Yeah.
Unnamed Transporter
Okay, dicey.
Tharaya
Thank you, YouTube. Have a good day.
Podcast Episode Summary: "Can I Walk With You? (4 Strangers)"
Podcast Information
In the inaugural episode of Can I Walk With You?, host Tharaya ventures into the bustling streets of New York City to engage in spontaneous conversations with four strangers. The premise is simple yet profound: walk alongside everyday individuals and delve into their personal stories, perspectives, and philosophies. This episode sets the tone for the series, emphasizing genuine human connections and the rich tapestry of experiences found within the city.
Antonio – The Maintenance Specialist
Unnamed Transporter – The Hospital Body Transporter
Justin – The Mitigation Specialist and Part-Time Therapist
Olivia – The Aspiring Outgoing Personality
Tharaya initiates the conversation by expressing her curiosity about people and her belief that walking together facilitates deep understanding. This sets a collaborative and open tone for the discussions.
Antonio delves into his passion for maintenance work, emphasizing the importance of precision and expertise, especially when dealing with older infrastructures.
He further discusses sustainable practices, cautioning against quick fixes that may lead to greater expenses down the line.
The unnamed transporter shares his unique occupation, shedding light on a role that many might find unsettling. He speaks candidly about the emotional and psychological adjustments required to perform his duties.
Justin offers a heartfelt perspective on his work in criminal defense, particularly focusing on a complex case involving a young individual with a tumultuous background.
He connects his professional role with his personal values, advocating for a more compassionate approach to justice.
Olivia discusses her journey to overcome shyness, inspired by engaging in activities like the podcast. She expresses admiration for Tharaya's ability to connect with strangers and aspires to develop similar confidence.
All participants reflect on their personal growth, the importance of relationships, and the continuous journey of understanding oneself.
Justin emphasizes the significance of stepping out of one's comfort zone to seize opportunities and form meaningful connections.
Olivia echoes the sentiment, encouraging perseverance and faith in one's beliefs.
Antonio adds a note on fairness and authenticity in life.
The episode wraps up with heartfelt messages from each participant, leaving listeners with profound takeaways about fairness, resilience, and the importance of human connections. Tharaya successfully bridges the gap between strangers, fostering an environment where vulnerable and authentic conversations can flourish.
Each participant shares a personal message, encapsulating their life philosophies and aspirations:
Overall Impression
In this episode, Can I Walk With You? captures the essence of human connection through candid dialogues. Tharaya's ability to engage and draw out meaningful insights from her guests offers listeners an intimate glimpse into diverse lives and perspectives. The episode not only showcases the vibrancy of New York City's inhabitants but also underscores universal themes of self-discovery, empathy, and the continual pursuit of personal growth.