Pasquale Spensieri - GRINDER
New York Works: Audio Portraits of a Vanishing City Produced by: Emily Botein & Joe Richman The Next Big Thing (NPR) 2/23/2002

Dean Olsher, host: Pasquale Spensieri spends his days riding around Brooklyn looking for dull blades. When he rings the bell on is truck, the owners of upholstery shops and restaurants and pizza parlors know that its time to get out their knives and their scissors to be sharpened. Itís not something you see very often these days, but during the depression there were hundreds of guys going around with peddle operated grinders strapped to their backs.

BELL RINGS, CAR ENGINE, and TRAFFIC

Pasquale Spensieri: My names Pasquale Spensieri. And Iím a scissor sharpener, a knife sharpener. This is my truck. This is my office. This is my workplace (RINGS BELL) Th bell gets confusing? One time an old lady came to me says give me a chocolate I says no I donít sell ice cream here, you got the working truck.

(CAR DOOR SLAMS) Weíre on Utica Avenue and 52nd street. This is a fabric store. We come see my customer. (DOOR BUZZER. ENTERS STORE)

Pasquale Spensieri: Come on inÖhow are you? Have your scissors sharpened today?

Customer: I do, but I don't know where my scissors are.

Pasquale Spensieri: Come on, we got to do some work over here. Heheheh.

EXCHANGE WITH CUSTOMER.

Customer: Okay here. Look, what happened here?

Pasquale Spensieri: This you can't close no more. You see the plastic. Throw it away. I'll be right back. There we got 2, 4,5 pair of scissors we gotta do. We got to go to work.

(OPENS AND SLAMS CAR DOOR)
STARTING UP SHARPENER, SOUND OF ENGINE

Pasquale Spensieri: Knives are much easier than scissors. Itís a knife itís straight its easy. Scissors its not so easy. You gotta know what youíre doing.

SHARPENING SOUNDS

Pasquale Spensieri: Some people they think this is a very low class business. Like you are low class. Thatís what makes you feel badly sometimes. But me I got my own ear, I could whatever I want. You know I did this all my life and I still like to do it. I enjoy it to sharpen the scissor. Iím attached to the grindstone. (LAUGHS)

Pasquale Spensieri: See sometime if you do it too fast, they think you donít do a good job. So thatís why sometime I sit down to look at my newspaper. Just a couple of minutes more and then do back.

Pasquale Spensieri: Okay Lady scissors ready. Great. See e you next time

MUSIC UP, DOOR SLAMS

Pasquale Spensieri: Keep moving canít stay in one place. (LAUGHS)

Pasquale Spensieri: My father used to do this business, my uncle. 1930 depression time, 30-31. They used to walk in the streets looking for work. They used to go around with the little thing on the shoulder. Thing with the stone on it. Then they used to have a little bell in their hand. ìDing, ding, ding, ding, ding, dingî. They used to used to go around screaming knife sharpener scissor sharpener. Arrontino! Arrontino! Arrontino means a grinder. That was a tough job. Now I got to be a grinder myself.

MUSIC FADES OUT

HORNS HONKING

Pasquale Spensieri: HmmÖwhat a noisy city huh? Weíre in Brooklyn 47th street now, and thatís Park. (RINGS BELL) How are you?

Pasquale Spensieri: I know a lot of people. Park is mine. I used to go to all the way to downtown Brooklyn, Washington Ave, use to do be a lot of shops down there. Factories. I used to stop in one building, I stay all day. Used to a place one building thatís the whole day. 300 people over there. Each one had a scissors. Pick em up sharpen bring em back. There was plenty of work for everybody. Today itís different. You donít even see a grinder any more. Itís finished.

Pasquale Spensieri: Open the door Moshe.

Customer: hey look who's here.

Pasquale Spensieri: Good morning.

Customer: I though you only worked for me? Back to normal?

Pasquale Spensieri: Yeah, pretty good. Not too bad, I've had cramps in my hands all day. Letís go. I got to go to work. (LAUGHS) Nice seeing you.

MUSIC UP. CAR STARTS. GRINDER.

Pasquale Spensieri: Iím seventy years old. I canít work no more like I used to. I used to work 12 hours a day, you know? Nobody wants to stop. You want to work until to die.

Otherwise I you get old. My brains, you get old (LAUGHS) Itís not easy in the wintertime you get cold youíre in and out. The summer itís hot in here. Thatís my trade. I pass my life on the truck. (GRINDING SOUNDS) Iím a grinder.

Finito!

© 2002 Emily Botein & Joe Richman