Last Hoorah

Over the long weekend, I took one final visit to my fieldsite. It was the last weekend. Flo's is now closed for the season and will reopen on March 1st. Most of the regulars were there, celebrating the last weekend. There were also some tourists that didn't know it was closing. For now anyway, the employees have to find a new job until Flo's reopens in March. It is good-bye for now, not forever

Ethnopoem

During class on Thursday we used our second formal interview to create an ethnopoem. By definition an ethnopoem, or ethnopoetic notation, is "a procedure for the analysis of transcripts in which a language researcher turns oral speech into poetic form" (Chiseri-Strater, Sunstein 416). Below is the ethnopoem I constructed from my interview with Komes Rozes, owner of Flo's Clam Shack.

Ethnopoem

 

Growing up

               my father had been in the restaurant business

               I admired his lifestyle

After several years

              Of negotiations

              Going to lose on the rules and regulations

We are fortunate

              To have a key group of employees

              We refer to them as the "A-team"

              Loyal

             Dedicated

I only consider myself a captain

             of the team

Customers

             gotta go to Flo's

New business

             this makes everybody happy as a clam!

 

 



Second Formal Interview

My second interview was conducted on November 4, 2013. I had the pleasure to interview the owner of Flo's Clam Shack, Komes Rozes. He was extremely hospitable and very vibrant in his answers.  It was clear through his interview that his employees and customers are extremely important to him and also that he takes great pride in his business. I also learned that he does not see himself as the owner but as "a captain of the team of many people whose ultimate goal is to provide complete satisfaction to the customer". That is the sentiment of a man who knows how to run a business and also knows how to keep both his customers and his employees happy.

Formal Interview

I had my first formal interview on Friday, November 1. I had the privilege of interviewing Lisa Miller, one of the managers and bartender at Flo's. She is a vibrant woman with blonde hair and blue eyes and is often mistaken as Flo due to her loving demeanor and level of care for the customers. When I sat down with her, I told her I had a list of questions and went over the informed consent form. she said "Oh please, I trust you. I don't care what you use from the interview". I laughed at her and told her I needed her to sign it anyway. she complied and then the interview began. I asked mainly open questions that left her plenty of time to talk, which she loves to do. I found out how she met the owner, Komes, how she began working at Flo's, what she did before becoming a bartender, and what the place and the people mean to her. overall, it was a very powerful interview that left me with plenty of "golden nuggets" for my final paper.

Signs

This past weekend I took another Saturday night trip to Flo's. Again, like the first week, it was very busy and full of life. I did notice something that I haven't noticed before, however. Most patrons at the shack are families. I also noticed that there wasn't a cell phone in sight. In an age where most of our lives are attached to a cellular device ( I am typing this post from my phone as we speak), it was very odd for me to not see any. I also noticed all of the signs on the walls. "No unsupervised children allowed on deck", "No fishing", and many others that are not only witty but fit with the nautical theme of the space. Along with signs, there are many photographs on the walls of the owner deer hunting and fishing as well as various patrons. The fish tank is still a main attraction upstairs, with plenty of little kids watching in awe as the multi-colored fish swam laps around the large tank. Most of my time at Flo's this weekend was spent noticing the fish (I even made a fish friend named Bullet). I also took the time to look at all of the signs. Even in the hour I was there, I couldn't even make a dent in all of them. I would have to spend multiple hours there and possibly even days to read all of the various signs hanging on the walls and ceiling and even more time would have to be spent in order to look at all of the pictures.

Searching for Third Source Information

This week I was asked to use multiple search engines and multiple keywords to find third sources to help with my final paper. I first went to trusty Google and searched the most obvious choice: "Flo's Clam Shack". I mostly came up with reviews and different websites such as Yelp and Urbanspoon, both sites which are dedicated to giving reviews of various restaurants. There aren't very many pictures and its very boring. Nothing on the sites scream Flo's, which is a very upbeat, happy place. I also found an article with a video attached on Food Network from when the show  "Best Thing I Ever Ate" came and tasted the fired clam roll and Fish and Chips. Next I moved on to the search engine Duck Duck Go and searched with the key words "Seafood Shacks". This search led me to many other seafood shacks around the country including ones in Boston, New Jersey, and even one in Louisiana. Each website was filled with pictures of customers, various foods, and contact information. I then moved on to Dogpile and searched "Local Owned Businesses Middletown, RI". the search results from that were mostly bland websites listing many local businesses in the Middletown, RI area.  It also brought me to the Middletown Webpage which has a stream of pictures of various areas in Middletown and also has links and important info for the town on it. It is brightly colored and gives an overall feel of peace and happiness with pictures of the St. George's campus and surfers on the beach. The final search engine I used was Mahalo (surfer/ beachy... perfect for a Clam shack right?). Wrong. When I typed in "Clam Shacks", it gave me Google ads to buy  a Clam Shack and Bing videos as well as pictures from Google, Bing, and Flikr.  Not a very original search engine. I also found Flo's Facebook page, which has many pictures of patrons, the owner's son, the staff, and most importantly, the food. I also found the actual website (there are many fake websites that the owner cannot get taken down with wrong menu items and prices) which has many pictures of the patrons, food, and staff as well as links to a menu, the history and awards, both locations (Middletown and Portsmouth), a photo gallery, and links and reviews. After trying all the new search engines, I think trusty old Google was the most helpful.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flos-Clam-Shack/245316810509 (Facebook)

 

http://www.flosclamshacks.com/home.html (Restaurant Website)

 

Sturday Night's Alright

My first night at Flo's was very successful. Located near the beach, it is in an area very popular with tourists and locals alike. The food is excellent and the staff is very friendly. The atmosphere is homey and very nautical. This month it is decorated with pumpkins and leaves and is very fall.
       What Surprised me? What surprised me most was that the upstairs was completely full at 7:30, which was excellent for my fieldstudy, but a bit unusual because the downstairs wasn't quite full yet. Another thing that surprised me was that Chris was watching the game on the TV from the end of the bar. This is unusual for him and I was curious as to why. It turns out that he is leaving in less than ten days and is kind of "checking out". Another thing that surprised me was that not as many of the regulars were there as normal. I'm not sure if it was the time or the night, but they weren't there. The final thing that surprised me was that Lisa was openly imitating Chris when he turned around. I think it is because it is the end of the season and that they live together during the season as well.
     What Intrigued Me? The most intriguing thing I found was the large fish tank teeming with many colorful fish, rocks, and decorations. It intrigued me because of how clean it is and how all of the fish are alive and well. I am curious as to how it is kept that clean and how they handle dead fish, especially because the tank attracts many children. The other thing that intrigued me was that Chris and Komes, the owner, have lively conversations at the end of the bar. I was curious as to what they were talking about.
     What disturbed me? Thankfully, nothing disturbed me during my visit to my field site.