SAC #03: enjoy troy.

01/20/13 • 44 min

TROY, N.Y. -- When you first arrive in Troy, you can't avoid seeing it. A playful sticker placed here and there. A black and white oval, with happy little lowercase lettering that says "enjoy troy." This "meme" has spread all over town. But for a long time few people knew where the cheery mandate orientated. When it started appearing on clocks and signs at local businesses, even the original creator of the slogan didn't know who was spreading those joyful gifts. In this episode, Duncan Crary speaks with Linda Passaretti and Tom Reynolds, the duo behind The Enjoy Troy Co. Today, there are dozens of variations on the original icon, which appear on shirts, hats, coffee tables, etc. that can be purchased locally at the art galleries and stores downtown. And the small entrepreneurs have plans to sell their wares nationally to other cities and people named Troy. But this effort has never been about making money for Tom and Linda. It's about spreading a philosophy -- to enjoy the small city they love. Music: "Come To Life," by Ben Karis-Nix (feat. Sea of Trees)/Swordpaw; "Trojans," by Atlas Genius (courtesy of +1); "Joy All The Time," by Ben Karis-Nix.

Previous Episode

SAC #02: Peter The Carpenter

TROY, N.Y - As a carpenter, Peter Albrecht has built many of the "third places" in Troy, where the people come to life when they are out on the town. But as a barroom Socrates, he holds his own with Ph.D's, crack heads and all strata in between. He is as quick to cite the ancient texts as he is with a bawdy tale. He's also the last stop for Trojans down on their luck, often sharing his meals and even his home for those with nowhere else to go. In this far-reaching conversation, Peter provides a glimpse of a life examined.

At a young age, Peter experienced extraordinary psychic events -- full-blown Kundalini stuff. And his upper middle class peers at the time thought he was out of his mind. He was unable to relate to the world and to others. But when a carpenter who took him on as a student, Peter eventually acquired the tools to relate to general mass of humanity. Still, as a common man's carpenter hustling for a modest livelihood out on the streets, he has had a life-long battle against fate and the current beliefs of our society.

This episode begins with "A Hero's Toast to Achilles (in Troy, N.Y.)," written and read by host Duncan Crary.

Content Warning: This episode contains some curse words, the mention of violence, and a story with a sexual reference to a religious figure.

Next Episode

SAC #06: James Connolly

TROY, N.Y. -- In 1916, James Connolly led the Easter Rising in Dublin, which eventually resulted in the creation of the Irish Republic we know today. He was a freedom fighter, a husband and a socialist labor organizer. Connolly lived in Troy, N.Y. from 1903 to 1905, where he worked to promote socialist ideals in this city that once bustled with industry and inequality.

In 1986, Belfast native James Devine worked to create a monument to Connolly in Troy, to honor the Irish hero's years spent living here. Like Connolly, Devine was a labor organizer at the time. Host Duncan Crary speaks to Devine about the Connolly, the monument and the Irish experience in America and in Northern Ireland.

The residue of James Connolly still remains today. Jon Flanders, a railroad machinist and labor organizer from Troy, works to continue the Connolly tradition in this small American city today through The James Connolly Forum. Crary speaks to Flanders about what it means to be a socialist in Troy today.

Music by The Broken String Band, feat. Michael Cooney. "James Connolly" and "The Big Fellah," by Black 47.