Roy Cochran says he is rough around the edges but reveals he has a big heart and a taste for classical music.
He was born in Toppenish, Washington, on the Yakima Indian Reservation.
“I took after my grandfather and used to whittle little balls, chain links, little monkeys and whatnot. Also I used to make knives for whittling. (I’d) find a blade, get a vise, chip it down and sharpen it up, make a handle and voila: I‘d made another knife. Always doing things with my hands.”
When Roy was in the 11th grade, his father needed him to earn money for the family.
Roy says: “He took me out of school and put a mud shovel in my hand, and said, ‘We’re pouring cement, boy.’ My Dad never wanted me to have books. He put me straight into physical work, doing things with my hands. I love doing things with my hands.”
Roy ended up in Texas, working as a skilled cement finisher for 26 years and once worked for one of the nation’s largest construction firms, Lee Lewis Construction. But the pay was poor.
“I’m making $4.70 an hour on a payroll job,” he says. “It’s difficult. You have to get more than one job to survive. But, cement work takes up all your energy, and you don’t have time for another job. It’s been a struggle for me all my life, as far as that goes. My ex-wife disappeared with our boys, and it really took a lot out of me. I went the wrong direction with the course of my life that time.”
Roy left Texas, had some personal difficulties in California and moved to Oregon to be closer to family and to sort things out.
He is glad he found Street Roots. He sells papers outside Safeway at Northwest 13th Avenue and Northwest Lovejoy Street.
Roy uses his Street Roots money to pay for his phone and enjoy one of his lifelong hobbies: music. When he was young, he played the trumpet, and he has written two songs. Now Roy listens to music on his phone.
“I love classical music, and I have seven songs,” he says. “I like “Für Elise” and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; that’s No. 1. I don’t want it playing on my phone when I’m selling papers, but it’ll get real dead and I’ll turn on my classical music and listen to it.”
Roy also finds that the paper is a good conversation starter with customers.
“Street Roots helps me express my thoughts on social issues,” he says. “We’ll get to talking, the light will turn green, but then they’ll step back. Then the light’ll turn red. They’ll glance up every now and then, and they’re talking, and wait for the next green light before they walk. They’ll say, ‘OK, see you next time,’ or ‘See you later. I might come back later.’”
Roy’s positive Street Roots experience has led him to recommend the job to two others, who are now vendors.
“I’ve been putting my problems aside and helping others right now,” Roy says in a thoughtful voice. “Just being a friend, without them even realizing you’re being a friend. ’Cause it’s hard being on the streets. You’re around a lot of crazy stuff. There’s like a homeless mentality that’s easy to slip into.
“But belonging to something like Street Roots helps you pull yourself up out of that. Keeps yourself kind of centered and focused toward where you can set some goals and reach them.”