Tracy168: The Tortoise and the Hare
File #2, recorded January 17th 2021, sets out to tell the story of Tracy’s first mural, a childhood creation on his mother’s home wall: a rendition of “The Tortoise and the Hare”. But as are all things Tracy: this interview isn’t a short road there. Wormholes abound (because I’m interviewing him) and Vicious Penguin walks among straight quiet roads (Tracy’s danger), so this interview takes us through many noisy avenues and gutters. Yet, this all leads to the story.
Here in File #2, Tracy outlines surviving four critical areas of his life: The Penguin, gangs, school and family. He talks about Playboy’s influence on his Wildstyle logo, drugs in the neighborhood, and designing wares for its gangs. He talks about surviving police in this era and his “only arrest” (with an introduction to his alias Bobby O’Shea). We learn what it’s like to live by Yankee Stadium and a bar that intersected the lives of baseball players and locals. Only when we land on the moon and enter the Sea of Tranquility do we find the Tortoise and the Hare. We find out, with affection, who the “greatest gangster of all” was to him. He also learns how I would have made a compromising sidekick, a know-it-all sister.
Tenderly, as was the case when Tracy showed his heart to me, File #2 shows the love he held for his mother. Tracy’s propensity for love (underneath all the jarring layers) always struck me.
Next File:
Previous Files
