Progress on my final piece is going at different paces in different areas of my research. I intend to write about Andy Po, owner of Homebase Skateshop on 4th Street and impressive human being. Gathering information has been going smoothly. Dozens of articles on him and his projects within the Bethlehem community have been written and provide useful information. I also follow his shop via twitter, which has proven useful to understanding his current daily life. I have spoken to people who have worked alongside him, whether on the Skateplaza along the South Bethlehem Greenway or another project, as well as a Lehigh student who in familiar with him. I’ve also visited the Skateplaza and plan to go back. (I recommend stopping by. It’s an interesting piece of Bethlehem, if you’re interested.)
What is going in a less optimistic direction is my contact with Po, the man I plan to profile. He seems happy to help me out but is far busier than I anticipated. He prefers to meet before the shop opens, which works for me and is totally understandable. However, he is extremely involved in the community in addition to running his own small business and just can’t be as prompt with his responses as I, and probably he, would like. A few times I have suggested a meeting date to which he responds after said date has passed. I really like and usually rely heavily on other sources close to the topic, but in this case I just need a few hours from Po. I have input on how the community responds to him and how a few individuals feel about him and his efforts, but I need to know how he feels about all of those things or my piece will be quite lacking.
I’ve stopped in the shop at what always seem to be busy hours, so Friday I intend to get someone to cover for me at work and go in right at opening to catch him before customers do or he gets down to business. I would use this opportunity to solidify dates and time at which I can stop by, so I don’t take up a chunk of his business day without warning and avoid any further miscommunication.
Jessica, Sounds like you have the right direction; now you just need some luck. Po needs to get cooperative. I think once you get him for some time and he discovers the angle you are pursuing, he will come around. But it's great that you already have a lot of material on him.
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