Charles Incorvaia and Dan Gailey

00:06 My name is Dan Gailey. I'm 55 years old. Today's date is August 19th, 2008 or in Buffalo New York, and I'm with my friend Chuck.

00:23 Hey, my name is chucking for Via. I am 62 years old.

00:28 Today is August 19th 2008. And where in Buffalo, New York.

00:34 Dan is a close friend of mine.

00:39 Great. Well, welcome. Let's start off with each of you spray painting a word a picture with words of what it is that you do in your life and what you're known for here in Buffalo.

00:56 I'm known in Allentown as well as the bubble man on the corner of Allen & Elmwood.

01:10 It's a part of Buffalo known as the Allentown and I started blowing bubbles is out the third-story window as a way to beat the blues and need something to do on the end.

01:24 I need a winter wasn't much happening.

01:27 Then I started noticing, you know people's reactions to it. We're

01:33 Really really good for the most part, you know, there's been a few naysayers, but not many.

01:39 Are enough to enough to make it tolerable.

01:45 Me I'm just a retired Auto worker.

01:50 Local neighborhood burnout

01:55 I just

01:57 Hang around Allentown and enjoy life

02:01 Implicit so I'm Chuck tell me about what got you started you had the blues. What does that mean?

02:10 Oso feeling kind of depressed that day and I came to hear this apartment in Allentown because it's the last place I was in that burned out and I pretty much lost everything I had.

02:26 And my family and a couple friends really set me up and in this apartment.

02:34 I just said there was feeling particularly down and just needed something to lift. My spirits bubble seem to be the answer.

02:45 So, what did you do? Where did you get the bubbles?

02:51 I just went out and you went out and bought some bubbles like what you see children use now, he drains every store in the neighborhood. You don't make your own solution for bubble blowing so much easier going out.

03:16 Oh.

03:19 A couple years now, I guess a year. Anyways, it's been longer than that at least two or three cafes been there two years more.

03:31 That's how I met the fool.

03:41 And you met how

03:44 I figured that I figured the guy blowing bubbles had to be some kind of weirdo. So, you know.

03:52 We are eventually met everyone in allentown's a weirdo. We all meet for.

04:00 She thinks I'm joking. I'm making fun. She doesn't know I'm being serious here.

04:07 Definitely seems like there's plenty of characters in the area. So the first day going back to the bubbles the first day. Did you just blow them out with the traditional poop? When I first grade, I was doing the the blowing out snot out the window and that they got to be real Turing real quick. So we now use a fan now, but it does Flash if he being that if one is good, then hundreds is hilarious.

04:40 So the first day how long were you blowing bubbles?

04:47 He's had it all probably for less than an hour. I mean left and down.

04:52 Does anybody notice 20 minutes or so and then it just seems to grow daily?

05:01 House people's reactions to it. The reactions are great. People are crazy. They make up at you like holy cow.

05:13 Well, I have to admit Whitney and I pulled over the car the first time that we saw that and we're pretty surprised and Enchanted. So who did you remember the first person to notice these bubbles?

05:29 I know you I really don't I remember some classic reaction. So from one from a female cop she stabbed the car she got out. She leaned up against the car looked up at me with a look that could have killed an elephant and five minutes later. She was smiling.

05:52 She was still leaning up against the cars you you but you can tell just by her stance. She had relaxed.

06:00 I will send the day wasn't that bad. She got two she waved she a back in the car and you do put the smiles on people's faces.

06:10 That's for sure.

06:14 Do some people not notice the bubbles or just keep walking by.

06:18 Oh no sooner or later. They don't notice there's enough room out there. I've had people that have walked through like a damn near a cloud of

06:31 Walk through it and oblivious to everything around them and then go get like half a block down one single bubble pass in front of their face in the leap out of their shoes.

06:43 Her reactions like that

06:47 I'm the first person to put you on the web. That's all. I know. I took a bunch of pictures of Chuck and I put them on the web on my website.

07:01 And what have been people's reactions.

07:04 Oh well.

07:07 She have performed at albright-knox Art Gallery.

07:14 Science Museum the science museum

07:18 There is a woman right now that's trying to get in touch with sneaky that wants me to do it at her wedding.

07:26 It's getting kind of strange.

07:31 I mean, they're just bubble.

07:34 They're just bubbles. But you do what you've devoted quite a bit of time to them, right?

07:42 Weave lights week started getting rid of the empties because the house was starting to look something like a warehouse while you've been saving them since the Allentown festival for crying out loud. How many bottles. Do you think you've gone through many gallons?

08:11 We've gotten rid of like about 20 cases so far without exaggerating of that's probably conservative estimate of empty bottles and most for the most part the empties were 32. Oz bottles. I've had people every once in awhile every blue moon not nearly often enough people donate bubbles. They'll come by with the there's a great story of the guy. That was tell me about that one the semen the Navy guy

08:48 Not which one is that? I was supposed to get it with the Airborne tattoo or Airborne. That's what it was.

08:56 He says standing on the sidewalk across the street from from where I live and he's waving large container.

09:05 Trying to get my attention so fancy I shouted to him. Yeah, what what's what's going on with you?

09:12 Sorry that I got something for you guys. Okay ran downstairs.

09:18 He says Jeezy. So we're out shopping until we saw this ridiculous like a gallon container of bubbles.

09:25 He says I bought and he goes I didn't know I don't know why I brought it. He goes I got it home and it was like now what the hell am I going to do with a gallon container of Bubbles and his wife suggested. She maybe want to donate it to you haters always blowing bubbles in Allentown. So that's what they did was nice of her to think of you, but he had

09:47 Tattoo on his arm

09:50 I'm a fact.

09:52 And they're great people I deal with them alive today go to the VA hospital and head of Airborne chair to the parachute and the wings.

10:09 Tattooed on his arm

10:12 No, Airborne, people are not known for their kindness.

10:18 But here's a guy just you know, like reaching out and it's great with friends are people that you meet outside of your third-story window. I usually wait for them to say are you the bubble guy or its which seems to be happening more and more? Hey, you're the bubble man. Hey beautiful man that all the time cuz I've had.

10:50 Walking by Spot Coffee today

10:56 I've had to see a story in the Buffalo Evening News.

11:02 Artvoice, that's a local paper.

11:05 Buffalo Rising for Rising story in their their paper and on their website

11:16 My website my MySpace

11:22 Oh, yeah, there is live footage of the bubble Main and action who still got to get you a MySpace page.

11:29 We actually did a live footage one day.

11:33 Bubble man at work

11:39 Yeah, yeah.

11:41 I started to.

11:47 And like I said it just there I wasn't putting out enough bubbles out. So I decided one day here. Let me try this band.

11:56 And if you had to spend the fan.

11:59 There's

12:02 Another friend of mine Paul Nix music and Bubbles

12:13 Classical musicians playing on the roof of the building. He wants him on the roof though. Yeah.

12:24 Annoying him. He probably wants to push him off.

12:31 No, they actually have your like somebody to do sound and Brian to do sound.

12:37 And

12:39 Broadcast to Allentown

12:45 Would that be at surprise intervals as well? Like the bubbles are now?

12:51 That would be a major event. Oh, yeah. I said that'll be a lot of work.

12:57 Weird

13:01 Well, I'm right up until this moment. We were just taking you about getting everybody together and doing it.

13:11 Have you ever had people up there while you blow while you're doing the bubbles? What about Allentown when we had had a full hour of bubbles from 242 Windows when I was up there helping you and the both of us doing bubbles out the window that day for good luck. And what was it like being on the other side? Well, this was the Allentown Art Festival and there's thousands of people in the street and you know, he was doing bubbles all day long. Anyhow,

13:49 But from 4 to 5 or 5 to 6, whatever it was we set up another fan and I did them too.

13:57 I know we're just thousands of bubbles going out that window. That was Windows.

14:02 So what if I feel like to see all those people down there with all those bubbles everywhere. We make fun of people.

14:11 Where we've got.

14:14 Nasty sense of humor and we we pick on people.

14:21 Allentown it is is I can buy the six black area of Allentown the lower end of Allen from like from like Elmwood to Wadsworth.

14:47 We can make fun of the homeless people that the laundromat rats.

14:53 We can look down girls cleavage from that window to that's nice.

15:00 What's the most extreme reaction you had somebody to the bubbles? There was just one woman that fits by the window. She looks up at me and she goes I don't know what you're doing, but I don't like it.

15:15 And I'm wrong lady. I'm just going by what does it look like? I'm doing here.

15:21 No, no, I I knew you were up to something. I don't know what it is, but I'll find out the tranny in the in the Lexus.

15:32 SUV didn't like either

15:35 You're getting your SUV dirty app. I was putting

15:41 Soakmerch Jennifer Turner. Have you ever caused a car accident know we're waiting on that one, but you just got through looking at the road except there's like going off looking at the bubbles and fortunately they usually at the stoplight already.

16:04 And the people behind him got to be better when you get them going and there's the end of the regulars at that drive by every day. There's

16:15 Two guys that drive you rather large armored truck and I had no idea armored trucks had sirens on it until he stopped at the light blue and siren until I came to the window.

16:28 Any waived and left or he was telling his buddy in the truck. And either blow their horn sound the siren and wave?

16:46 And oh, I got an interesting reaction to a couple days ago.

16:52 Young once again, if you know female police officers are down and I are also a regular Drive by The White Buffalo Scenic tour bus. Oh, yeah. Yeah there without a without the roof on it.

17:15 So how do you decide how and when are like how long you're going to blow bubbles each day and what time of day it says where you're talking about a pet peeve of mine right now people will stop by on the sidewalk below the window. Look at their watch like there was Showtime posted somewhere and it's just spontaneous. It happens when it happens. Now, there's there's no set to I've been at that window at 4 in the morning doing bubbles.

17:53 So what moves you to bring out the bubbles?

17:59 Are you said is it's

18:03 It's it's people's reactions. Now it started out.

18:07 Yardim is as you something to be boredom and the blues and kind of make myself feel a little better. And now it's just I'm really getting off on people's reaction to the whole thing. You do seem to laugh a lot more. I guess I mean nothing yet.

18:34 You're one of the pleasant characters in Allentown. We were some of them or just somebody I didn't actually see it. Although it happened right below my window assembly was telling me a story about you guys at the bus stop that redeemed are coming to blows and I was doing bubba that was oblivious to it.

18:53 And they stopped doing it when the bubble started falling around them and started looking up at the winter. They just both of them stopped arguing stared up at the window for like 15 minutes or something and then just walked away, right?

19:19 And how long do you how long do you usually do it at one time?

19:27 Usually a lot.

19:30 Usually longer than then what I consider three of my friends have told me that 10 minutes half an hour's usually average.

19:43 Give me a did it always seems it never seems long enough or something like that. I'll have something else to do or some place to go over.

19:50 So what is it about bubbles that people like so much?

19:56 The childhood thing I believe.

20:00 And it's like, you know, no matter how how should your day you're having no Street and all of a sudden there's a cloud of bubbles in front of you and you got to start realizing at that moment how exactly how absurd life is

20:18 How do you make me laugh every morning?

20:26 I mean I met you people just have to lighten up a little bit. I know I'm guilty of sometimes you just you reach a point in your life or you just got up now. It's it's it's going to be there tomorrow. It's

20:48 In the nothing is that dramatic nothing is that down?

20:54 I know how to put in.

20:58 I don't know the coffee Shop's been pretty dramatic.

21:10 How everybody I mean, I'll see you now.

21:17 There's some

21:20 I got a crazy customers the crazy all these Regulators every morning.

21:27 Are the

21:31 Intellectuals and the revolutionaries and

21:37 And it's as small as this room. Yeah, but they had a good cup of coffee.

21:47 So where did you guys first meet probably at the coffee shop or else I was standing in the street yelling up to him. Hey, I got a joint, you know, something like that.

22:02 Like I said, I knew he was weird. So I figured you know, there's a mean not that I'm complaining but there's another interesting phenomenon is half a pint.

22:12 It seems like every so often out of the Clear Blue Sky. It'll be let's get the bubbleman stone today.

22:20 And I'll have like three four people upstairs.

22:26 You're all going on here. Not really. Try this. Are you like this?

22:30 Hey honey, I just I smoke grass.

22:36 Occasional absent every now and again, but mostly brass

22:40 And I figure I'm you know, I'm too old for anything else but braces just another friendly little drug on your website your section on absinthe. Tell me about that a couple years ago when I found out it was legal to import it so we both become quite the kind of source of Chuck and I have tried at least 20 different kinds.

23:14 And any funny stories from those times?

23:23 Emery's do something about absent that just

23:28 Puts a smile on your face and makes you laugh and you can really enjoy what he does for the window.

23:37 With a good day absinthe Buzz that is watching the bubbles has.

23:44 They're moving and it says it's a slightly different High. We don't drink but it's not like drinking alcohol.

23:52 He describes me. You mean you drink together and then you stay on the third floor and you go to the street.

24:03 You know either something to laugh at over there and you look who's look who's got a new dog or look who got a new car just catching up on what's happening in the neighborhood.

24:18 Looking even looking at all the tourists. There are a lot of tourists in Allentown Arthur.

24:26 Yeah, they got to stand out too. So, how did you guys actually become friends? You meet each other and you start hanging out, but tell me a little bit about the same generation. He's like at the beginning of the Baby Boomers. I'm at the end and

24:46 Yeah, I'm retired. Neither. He's disabled neither one of us work. So we got a lot of time on our hands and we live in the same neighborhood we run into each other all the time.

24:57 So we have time to party.

25:02 Occasionally

25:05 So if you had to describe.

25:08 I have the other person to somebody. How would you describe them?

25:14 Crazy old Soldier man

25:21 Yeah, that dude that would mean I don't know when to quit.

25:27 Line from song like a crazy old Soldier just don't know when to quit.

25:37 But why that song and Weiss will just a crazy old Soldier to me, my bad.

25:57 Hey, it's a I mean I've for a while. I was in the Navy came out and

26:07 These are about to receive four years later. I was in a cameo on one end of the spectrum to the other real quick. I was at transition.

26:21 Oh, we were run.

26:25 The Caribbean was in the Allentown. It was that matter fact. It was down in Wadsworth.

26:32 And we had. We're in what was called the Allentown free store where we give out clothes and small appliances and

26:44 It was another it was you know during the during those he had a wonderful year is when there is all kind of grant money out there.

26:54 So I really was a CD neighborhood back in the 60s en CD Neighbourhood CD like

27:08 A bunch of people from UB that were doing

27:13 Quote community outreach work and quote and we had the free store going.

27:26 Then we were going to

27:29 Oh Bo protesting the war?

27:37 And offering people alternatives to military service.

27:43 Another words if they wanted to go to Canada, we show him the way.

27:48 And there was a couple veterans in this.

27:55 Meat besides myself. There was two other veterans.

28:03 And

28:07 Yeah, we thought you said we had we had the free store going for a while that they tried to close that a couple times for different young while you got to have all these clothes have to be the laundry. They have to be dry clean first.

28:22 That's why I see you mean that like anything that's sold at the Salvation. Army has been dry-cleaned.

28:28 I need what? Yeah, that's what we mean. I was okay. So we went out and got a dry cleaner to back us and we started dry cleaning every donated piece of cloth. What makes you go from being a soldier a vet to joining a commune in becoming a protester.

28:52 Being a vet being of that'll make you think worth a bad idea.

29:03 What about the experience of War?

29:12 You just managed to miss that didn't you? Just miss Korea now just miss Graham. You know, they for Vietnam admitting to it yet. Yeah, we were there. They just wanted 6381 admitting to it yet.

29:32 Arizona

29:35 Ammunition Supply ship

29:37 And we used to supply an awful lot of ships that we're going from the east coast to the West Coast and you know the minute they reach the West Coast they were going to get orders to go to Vietnam.

29:49 So

29:54 Then I've had a lot of friends that you know combat vets and it's like the what's happening now.

30:03 It's son. There's no reason for it.

30:07 We should have been over there. Where do I go do your thing and get the hell out of there instead of staying there for years. What are you trying to prove my staying a lot of money and sending up the price of gas and sending home an awful lot of people without lens. This is the most amputees.

30:30 This country is Everest. This country has seen since the Civil War.

30:35 That's when you consider. That's all they were doing is hacking off limbs. That was their idea of surgery at the time.

30:43 And then there's more coming back without limbs now.

30:48 Girl from roadside bombs in the butt

30:55 So returning to him the bubbles a little bit. What how does that tie into being a protester? Cuz there any connection?

31:06 No, not really. That was just you something else have his injury.

31:13 No at the social action though to is.

31:19 And I asked you Dan but check how would you describe Dan?

31:26 Oh Old Hippie.

31:31 Don't let the here for you. There's an old hippie. So how long you going to do bubbles? How long you going to be blowing bubbles?

31:41 I guess two I wake up and it's a bad idea so far. It's a good idea. I really couldn't say for sure.

31:50 Is there something that you want to get out of the experience that you haven't yet?

31:57 Yeah paid for it more often.

32:03 Emotionally emotionally, I've I've been paid for more than once more than once.

32:12 Are you just got to rub it in that you made all that money while doing that next card show.

32:20 Yeah, those nice folks pay me for a chemist.

32:24 That was a nice way to spend the day.

32:27 Play Golic and what keeps you in Allentown?

32:32 Will you stay there or will you go somewhere else?

32:35 No chances are I'll probably stay there.

32:38 It's the best neighborhood in Buffalo in spite of everything. It's a good place to live and in spite of people like the Allentown Association historical preservation board.

32:53 And despite those people. It's a great place to live. They do make it hard for the homeowners and business owners. If we were in a fight we'd be on our knees right now how they reacted the bubbles.

33:13 Great.

33:15 PPL in Allentown love Association

33:20 Oh, I've had a couple of those people up in the apartment.

33:24 I've had them blowing bubble. These old men blowing bubbles out. The window was great, which I did. Once again. I'm doing the bubbles out the window and and there's

33:42 4 old guys and one young guy down there and for old days and two young guys are looking up at the window and they're waving and it's like your mind if we come up and hang. Okay, come on out. They came up they introduced themselves as members of the association in that.

34:17 And he's feeling all we know we love this is great, you know another you know.

34:24 Character in Allentown and surprised they didn't want to text. You know, I'm sorry these old buildings around here. They have they come up with some crazy stuff.

34:45 No, no, I wasn't.

34:49 What it is he was deprived of a childhood.

35:01 I know it was It was a

35:04 Strange kind of childhood but not with a deprived of anything.

35:11 Anime

35:13 You know dad while he always provided for us and he was he was a gambler.

35:20 So life in the house of a gambler's is always a little strange. It's kind of like feast or famine.

35:32 But be I'll have a we never really wanted for anything. So yeah, I can't criticize the guy too much.

35:43 Yeah, most of them.

35:47 Accept my older brother who lives out in the Southern Tier. He's the hermit of the family so

35:55 He hardly gets into Buffalo and when he tells its

35:59 Not usually to visit relation.

36:05 I have a big question, but it's for both of you. What do you think? You're most proud moment in your life is?

36:17 Finally retiring

36:20 Finally getting out of this.

36:22 The Auto industry after 30 years. I was proud of that. I did it I made it.

36:31 Tattooing

36:34 My tattoo that was a lot of pride in that.

36:43 I know I've been through a lot just I'm amazed most of the time that

36:52 That I've made it to 62 years old.

36:58 That's about it.

37:02 How does venmo if you have a few high points along the way?

37:10 But every morning I get up and I'm amazed. I'm still here still kicking.

37:20 What is the most fun you guys have ever had in your friendship like the best memory?

37:30 First time we bought a bottle of absinthe proof that he bought a battle. They have sex the first battle of absinthe. That was Ryan everybody together there.

37:42 And describe that we had five six seven people to go over to friends house and we were all

37:52 Testing the waters so to speak.

37:55 Cuz we never had it before and it was.

37:59 A different experience for everybody

38:03 No, I hadn't Drank in 25 years anything at all. And some people are heavy drinkers somewhere moderate Drinkers and

38:13 We all agreed. It was a different experience.

38:17 Yeah, not to mention. We're

38:20 Cracking up over ashtrays if there is it. There was almost a small fire that started that evening and thank God they didn't get out of hand because everybody was just laughing so hard it was remember anybody running to put it out.

38:42 I've been asking a lot of questions. Do you guys have questions for each other?

38:49 I can't think of any idea why you don't we talk all the time. It's

38:57 We know each other pretty well what we doing.

39:03 So say somebody's listening to this in a hundred years if this goes the Library of Congress other things that you'd want on this recording.

39:17 I have my website won't be up anymore. So I guess

39:23 Yeah, and I Look to no one in a hundred years or

39:29 Good law-abiding citizen Phil going to be hiding in in their basement smoking marijuana instead of it being sold across the counter.

39:40 I hate most people that I know are you like honest hard-working people? They just you know, they have a beer on the weekend and enjoy to go with it. And that's the big party on the weekend.

39:59 Retired from two professions. I never had a problem with it myself.

40:07 I think somebody else is going to take over the bubble blowing.

40:13 There have been some contenders to the throne, but

40:19 Old couple of young people in the neighborhood have been out there.

40:28 Blowing bubbles person across the street put a bubble machine in his window and then do it didn't do half as well as truck does bubbles don't need no people savings don't like that machine.

40:48 So what makes you persevere longer than them?

40:55 Oh, I'm

40:57 I'm Sicilian.

40:59 And once we start on something is just run it into the ground.

41:07 And have crazy in that helps.

41:12 Bat house

41:18 Well, thank you so much for doing that and coming in and participating.