Interviewer: Preetam Prakash

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Bobby Harrison was one of the offshore workers who responded to the article that Preetam had placed in the Meridian Star on April 19th, 2010. Bobby contacted Preetam the following afternoon. He initially seemed uncertain about when a good time to get together for an interview might be, but called back in the evening and said that it would be fine for Preetam to come over to his place in Collinsville that night.

Bobby started working offshore in 1974 and stayed in the industry for seven years, leaving for good in 1981. He grew up around the Meridian area and worked for a bread company before he managed to get a job offshore through someone that he knew in the area. He started out working as a roustabout and eventually worked as a crane operator. He refrained from trying to advance into higher positions because of the additional responsibility they entailed. He eventually had to stop working offshore in 1981 because of a back injury. After spending a few years recovering from his injury, he went to work for a landscaping contractor and closed out his career in this line of work. Bobby had a book and a framed assortment of photographs on the kitchen table when Preetam arrived and leafed through the pages of the book throughout the interview, occasionally pointing out something that caught his eye.