BROWSE ALL STORIES

PHOTO of Mike

Recorded at KenCrest Services April 2015.

About Mike

Mike has worked at KenCrest for 24 years.

Interview Highlights

Image Gallery

Mike from KenCrest Services with his interviewer
Mike takes his own photo with a remote control.
Portrait of Mike
Mike flexes a muscle
Mike takes his own photo while lying on the floor

LIVES LIVED APART interview with Mike recorded April 23, 2015

PHOTO of Mike with his interviewer Ben

Ben: I'm done. So should we begin?

Staff: Yeah, whatever you want.

Ben: Alright so where were you born?

Mike: I was born in 68 February 8th.

Ben: But where?

Mike: My birthday is February 8th.

Ben: No but where were you born? Where are you from?

Mike: (Inaudible) in a house, a group home with two staff. Chuck and me. I want to tell you something, OK? (Inaudible) My sugar is low. OK? Yesterday my sugar is low. I got a 58. It jumped down and low. I have to watch my sugar.

Ben: Yeah.

Mike: And I will tell you about that. I passed out. Last week...

Ben: You passed out?

Mike: Yeah, last week in my room. This is my neck. I was stuck in my bed. I couldn't move.

Ben: Yeah, that's not good.

Mike: Here, I will show you. I got this.

Ben: Oh you got the bracelet?

Mike: And my neck. I will get this off me.

Ben: Yeah.

Mike: Look at it.

Ben: OK, it has all the information then. Yeah.

Mike: Yeah, it does.

Ben: It says you're diabetic. Do you have any major problems with that?

Mike: Let's see. My sugar yesterday. The staff should have gave me my sugar. It was low. Yesterday I got (inaudible) and my orange juice. It made my sugar go down.

Ben: OK.

Mike: (Inaudible) I've got to watch my sugar.

Ben: Yeah.

Mike: This is down. This is up, I've got to watch my sugar.

Ben: You've got to keep it on track?

Mike: Yeah?

Ben: How was school like for you growing up?

Mike: What did you say?

Ben: What was school like for you?

Mike: Oh.

Ben: Did you like school?

Mike: I was in school a long time ago. I was there. I was with my staff. (Inaudible). We go out and see my school in there. They miss me. I miss my school. I had fun there. I got school in my phone with me now.

Ben: Oh really?

Mike: I got school here.

Ben: You have school in there?

Mike: In my phone, yes. It's in there now.

Ben: That's cool.

Mike: Yeah. I got () in there, college in there. Anything, it works. (Inaudible). I do his. He know me. My mom and dad, they died and my family. My brother Joe; you don't know my brother. He died too. He was cooking.

Ben: I'm sorry.

Mike: He burned himself. He burned cooking. He burned. He died and my sister. You don't know my sister. She died. They all died on me.

Ben: That must be tough.

Mike: Yeah.

Ben: So I saw your job. Do you like your job?

Photos by JJ Tiziou

A Fierce Kind of Love has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Top of Page ↑