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Transcription: [00:36:05]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
business but it's a fun business so

[00:36:09]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Is there a difference between the outdoor chess scene and the parks here?

[00:36:15]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah some of the parks are run by people and that can be very unpleasant, I have not been there so I cant say from experience but I know that people have come here and won't play at the park.

[00:36:25]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Really?

[00:36:26]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah for one its a gambling scene in some of the places and it's run by somebody so you can't just sit down at a table because people have the table and that's not true everywhere because I know that if you go to Tomkins Square Park, you can sit down at a table and play a game of chess.

[00:36:46]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
hmmm.

[00:36:47]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"} (continues)
But, the scene in the park is different because I think um human nature requires somebody there to keep it from getting to the lowest common denominator, somebody to say "this is not how you behave, lets make it pleasant for everybody".

[00:37:02]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Let's not drop to that level. And that's why we get a lot of people who... and at the same time, not to make it, you know, this disciplinary place. You know, it's very free and you can do what you want. But... there is sort of a blurred line that can be crossed... and then gently go over into the other side.

[00:37:27]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
It's funny Tommy[?] called the other day and wanted to find out, we have a policy here of um, for charging for profanities. If people curse, they get charged a dollar twenty-five or something each one.

[00:37:42]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
…such a gentleman sport.

[00:37:44]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah.. yeah you'd think. So, uh, .. they were talking about GW Bush the other day, about that New York Times reporter, called to ask if you know, "what's the scene? what's the thing about the cursing?" And our thing was, make it a pleasant place to play and cursing is I dont have anything really against it but it densed denovative place to that lowest denominator and quickly becomes very unpleasant.

[00:38:11]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
yeah. People who do see it as a game or play start to take things personally because there like idiot and then like yeah.

[00:38:20]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah. And its not nice for anybody and there's couples who come in here and there's people on first dates who have been here. There's a couple who went on a date here, first date chess shop and then he proposed to her and they got married.

[00:38:35]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Wow.

[00:38:36]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
He propopsed to her In the chess shop

[00:38:36]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Oh really?

[00:38:38]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
across the table. Yeah.

[00:38:40]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Wow

[00:38:41]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
And the funniest thing is I didnt here about it

{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
*laughing*

[00:38:42]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
at the time ah afterwards because um it turns out the couple is a friend of um my wife's cousin.

[00:38:51]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Really?

[00:38:52]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah. They didn't know anything about... they didn't know me. They didn't.. they just came because it was a chess shop.

[00:38:57]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Oh really? so random. Yeah small world.

[00:38:59]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah this was before I ,it was a while... it was a few years ago. So,

[00:39:03]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Nice.

[00:39:05]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
I thought that was really nice. And they're still together and I think they still come to play.

[00:39:07]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
*laughing*

[00:39:08]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
I just haven't met them yet. But um otherwise I just wanted to add that Ruth and George started this. And Ruth and George were the heart and soul of chess in today the West Villiage in New York City. There well known in the chess community and um you know Ruth died this past march

[00:39:35]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Hmm.

[00:39:37]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
and this was a place where they took care of their customers their friends and made a really nice environment and when people were out of money. They would come visit. they would get here and pay. For over 20 years, Doesn't pay a cent. . You know, he comes and helps. He's nice and he's a really good chess player, he doesn't really have an income,

[00:40:01]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
hmm.

[00:40:01]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
and there's plenty of people like that. You know, it's uh it's always been just this fantastic place cause of that, because of them. And I'm just hoping that I can - I don't want to change much, I want to carry it on, you know and see, make it into the new generation.

[00:40:23]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Yeah, it is. Do you have - are there a lot of you? Cousins?

[00:40:26]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah, well there's only a few of us but my brother works here too on occasion. He's an artist and he also lives, we live in the same building across town. So he's worked here all these years as well, but you know he's an artist and he doesn't want to spend his time in here at all. So he'll come in if it's an emergency, he'll come in at anytime and help, and but um.

[00:40:46]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Yeah.

[00:40:46]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
and yeah that's it. *laughing* yeah there's a bunch of cousins and uncles and aunties that love to come by but

[00:40:56]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
yea.

[00:40:56]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
[mumbles]

[00:40:59]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
That's a lot of work, yeah.

[00:41:00
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Yeah, it's a lot of work.

[00:41:04]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
Thank you.

[00:41:05]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 1"}
Great!

[00:41:06]
{SPEAKER name="Speaker 2"}
um..

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