Levi Erock: My Honda's not here.
Orane Fraser: Remove the speed bumps!
Word on the street: Orane Fraser left Levi Brock at the parole office. He waited a while. Then he hit the road.
Fraser drove Brock in Brock’s car Tuesday morning to the Sunoco parking lot at State and Humphrey streets, across from Dunkin’ Donuts and the state office where Brock had an appointment. Brock was meeting with his parole officer following a series of drunk driving accidents.
At first, as he waited for his friend to reemerge, Fraser took a few minutes to chat for the daily “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.
Asked for the day’s “word on the street,” Fraser reflected that there are too many places to go and too many speed bumps standing in the way.
Artwork from Fraser's Instagram.
“Elicker, I don’t know what you think you’re doing,” he said, in reference to New Haven’s mayor, who promotes traffic-calming measures.
There is “psychological trauma” attached to going over speed bumps, Fraser claimed. “I heard it’s gonna stop the crime … remove the speed bumps and try another method,” he urged.
The speed bumps aren’t enough to drive Fraser away from New Haven, though.
“I’m from The Hill — never ran, never will,” he said. “It’s a beautiful city. Our food is amazing. I’m not going nowhere.”
Fraser’s life philosophy centers on the joy of “dipping and dabbling.” A graphic designer, he spends some time doing “corporate work” (“Mad boring, ya feel me?”) and some time exploring creative pursuits, whether that’s uploading illustrations to his art Instagram account or talking on his podcast, “Kings of the Vision.”
That’s why he likes New Haven.
“Whatever’s jumping, what event is cracking, you just go see what it is,” he said. His favorite spots to hit: Barcade in the evening, Tropical Smoothie Paradise in the morning.
After talking about his preferred places to eat (“Asian spots, Indian spots, Greek spots, it’s beautiful!”) Fraser decided to take his friend’s car for a ride while he waited for him to finish up with his parole officer.
Soon after, Levi Brock arrived — and clarified the word on the street: Human speed bumps. Like his friend Fraser.
“He always does this,” Brock said of Fraser, shaking his head.
Brock, who grew up in City Point, met Fraser five years ago. “He’s been my friend ever since,” he said. “But he might not be anymore” after leaving him stranded without a phone on State Street, Brock joked.
Fraser likes to borrow Brock’s car “to run those little errands,” according to Brock.
“Target, Walmart,” he enumerated. “Any nice, shopping, decor stuff.”
“And he loves that organic shit … Edge of the Woods,” he added.
Brock, on the other hand, said that he prefers McDonald’s.
And rather than spend his free time hopping around New Haven, he’s looking to switch jobs from mover to long-haul truck driver — for the benefits. “I’m gonna take a truck of people to Miami,” he imagined.
He hopes to encounter fewer speed bumps upon leaving New Haven city limits.
“Fuck those speed bumps,” Brock said. “They put them in inner cities to stop people getting chased by the police.”
When he sees a bump in the road, he said, he takes it as a sign to speed up rather than slow down.
Brock and Fraser: Reunited over fried chicken and smoothies.
But Tuesday morning wasn’t about getting chased by the cops or taking a trip to Florida. Brock and Fraser were focused on getting where they wanted to go.
For Brock, that was somewhere far away from a cold Sunoco parking lot.
An hour later, Fraser returned to the scene and explained that his WNHH interview had reminded him of where he himself wanted to travel: Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
“There he is! He finally came back for me,” Brock exclaimed when he saw his familiar black Honda pull into the gas station.
“I didn’t mean to be gone for that long. The smoothie lady was going so slow,” Fraser apologized.
He had also returned with a 20-piece Popeye’s chicken box for Brock — and money to fill his friend’s gas tank.
“You’re lucky I’m starving,” Brock said.
The saga: Where's Fraser? Here's Fraser.
Watch the full interview with Fraser below.
OMGAWD! Hilarious! So much energy so early! He was so engaging! I feel the same way about all the speed bumps!
Have you driven down Shelton Ave? THE WHOLE DAMN STREET! Ugghhh! They would never do this down say, Orange Street.
If I do say so myself I am enjoying The Word On The Street!