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Interview with Older Adult

Shyterria Sims

School of Social Work, Texas State University

SOWK 4305: Human Behavior & the Social Environment II

Dr. Lea Velez

November 8, 2022
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Interview with Older Adult

*Disclaimer: All information about Anonymous was conducted in an interview held on

November 3, 2022. Due to his age and memory, some information may not be accurate, but he

answered all questions to the best of his ability. *

Demographic Information:

Anonymous is a 67-year-old Black/African-American male who identifies as he/him. He

was born on March 19, 1955, in Charleston, South Carolina. He is the middle child of three

children with an older brother and a younger brother. He has a total of eleven kids; seven who

are biologically his and four whom he helped raise. He currently cares for two of his teenage

daughters and has three cats and dogs.

Personal History

Before he was born, his mother married his older brother’s dad, which is how he got his

last name. When he was a young boy, his stepdad shot and killed his grandfather. Anonymous

cannot recall the year in which this happened, but he did mention that his stepdad was deported

for this crime. He also does not know or seemed to care enough to remember anything about his

stepdad other than the information provided.

Anonymous describes his relationship with his mother as great. From the way he spoke

about her, I can tell he truly adored his mother. According to him, she would always take him

with her everywhere. Most of the time, these places included the homes of people that she

respected as well as other places such as the stores or simply a walk in the park. He also says he

had a great relationship with his older brother when they were younger and they still do to this

day. They have long conversations with each other on the phone due to staying in different cities,

but they also travel to see each other every now and then. Anonymous describes his younger
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brother as very distant as a young boy and as of right now. He says they did not form a good

relationship or communicate much due to his brother’s behavior until he was about twenty years

old.

The idea of family was very established in the home. He talked about how the home was

very stable and everyone understood each other and kept the peace. He says moral values were a

big part of his youth as his mom and grandmother instilled that in him. In January 1969, things

took a turn for the worse when his mom passed away from pneumonia. She was thirty years old.

Anonymous was only thirteen at this time and he and his brothers went to live with his

grandmother.

During his teenage years, enjoyed playing football, basketball, and baseball, and

participating in track and field. He also mentioned that he grew fond of girls around this age.

When he was not occupied with sports or girls, Anonymous would hang out with his friends.

They would go to dances and house parties, ride bikes, and go swimming in the countryside.

Being that they were big on family, he also enjoyed being with his brothers and grandmother.

Anonymous lived with his grandmother until he was twenty-two years old. He was the

last to leave the home because his older brother got married and his younger brother moved out

to live with his girlfriend. In 1975, he left Charleston for Columbia, South Carolina because he

felt like it was time for a change of scenery. He returned to Charleston shortly after this move

with the intention of staying in his hometown. He quickly changed his mind as he was not

satisfied with his old friends not trying to improve and felt he could not grow in such an

environment.

Anonymous was born at the start of the Civil Rights Movement. This has a major impact

on his perspective as a young boy and it still affects him to this day. When he was a little boy, he
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saw signs labeled “coloreds only” and “whites only” on doors when he went to stores. Because

he was Black, he could not go into white neighborhood stores, had to order food from the side of

cafés, and could not be seated in restaurants. He also reflects on times when he and his friends

had to enter movie theaters and were not allowed to sit in the floor seats. They were required to

sit in the balcony area at certain theatres, others would not allow them in at all. Something that

he remembers very well was when the military men for the Vietnam War walked through his

neighborhood and called him and his friends derogatory names and racial slurs. They would

walk through his neighborhood to get to the boats on the seaport to fight in the Vietnam War.

Adult History

Anonymous recalls one of the first significant events in his life was the birth of his first

child in 1981. He then goes on to have twins in 1984. It is not until 2001 that he has his fourth

child at 46. He says this is also a significant event because he was able to see his child born as he

was not able to be present at the birth of his first three due to being incarcerated. Between 2003-

2007, anonymous has three more children. He has a great relationship with all of his children and

says that he believes that

From the time he left Charleston, he has had a variety of independent contracting jobs

from construction, I.T. trucking, plumbing, and carpentry. He says he learned all of these skills

on the job as he does not have a license for any occupation listed. Anonymous said that he

wanted to be a police officer or a counselor or therapist. He was even a youth counselor at the

YMCA during his younger adulthood years.

Although he was married and is now widowed, he does not speak much about his wife. In

his younger adulthood years and into his middle adulthood, he says he has had quite a few

intimate relationships, all of which were not long-lasting.

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Health History

Anonymous lived a very healthy lifestyle until his early 20s. Growing up, he says that no

one in the home used drugs. During his early 20s, he shot heroin, drank alcohol, and began

freebasing. I asked what freebasing was and he described it as smoking crack cocaine. I looked

up what it was and Vertava Health (2019) says freebasing is putting freebase cocaine into a glass

pipe and heating it until it boils into a vapor, which is then inhaled. He no longer does these

drugs, but he occasionally has a beer once a day. Other than substance abuse, Anonymous has a

slight vision impairment with cataracts beginning to form in his eyes.

Education

In school, Anonymous was a B+ student. He graduated from Charles A. Brown High

School in 1974. He then went on to Trident Tech in Charleston, SC, and then to Midlands

Technical College in Columbia, SC. He dropped out of Trident Tech due to absences, but he

completed the work for the semester. At Midlands Tech he completed a welding program.

Cultural Influences

Although Anonymous is not religious, he is spiritual. In chapter 5, Hutchinson (2017)

defines spirituality as a process of human life and development and religion as an

institutionalized pattern of values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors. He has never gone to church

but believes in a higher power/being so thought about converting to Islam. He wanted something

in his life other than Christianity because he witnessed too many people preach the bible but not

follow it. This thought process came to him between 1981-1982 while he was in jail. The way

that Islam was taught to him made him change his mind because he believed the people teaching

him were not committed to the religion or following the practices.

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As a person who identifies as Black/African-American growing up in the south during

the late 50s and 60s, he believed all White/Caucasian people were dangerous. Living in the city

all his life let him see the world how it was through racism, violence, prejudice, cheating, and

lying. Charleston reminded him of slavery because of the old history that was prominent within

the city such as slave markets, slave ports, and plantations.

Current Living Situation

Anonymous currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina. He is relatively healthy other

than the vision impairments. He is in the process of receiving health insurance through Medicare

but is waiting for the process to be complete. He receives income through being self-employed

and receives money from a few of his adult children. He also receives Social Security benefits

from the passing of his wife in 2011.

Leisure Activities

Being visually impaired has caused Anonymous to stay at home more often than he likes

because it refrains him from driving. He makes the best of it by playing with his dogs and cats

and taking them for walks around the neighborhood. He also enjoys watching true crime TV and

movies and taking naps. When he gets tired of being at home, he catches the city bus and goes to

the public library or walks downtown. He sometimes goes to see his older brother in Charleston

when one of his kids is not busy and is willing.

Future Plans/ or Goals

Anonymous tends to live in the moment. He does not plan to predict the future as he lives

day to day. He does mention that when his youngest daughter turns 18 in the next three years, he

plans to travel to the west coast to visit a friend.

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References

Hutchison, E. D. (2017). Essentials of human behavior: Integrating Person, Environment, and the

Life Course (2nd ed.). SAGE Publishing.

Vertava Health. (2019, June 28). What is freebasing? Vertava Health. Retrieved November 8,

2022, from https://vertavahealth.com/blog/what-is-freebasing/