Roxanne Frye

This interview was conducted with Roxanne Frye (AKA “Roxi”) in the interviewer’s room at “3rd State”, the Hudson guest house where Roxi works and lives as the Resident Manager.  Roxi was born in Lansing Michigan and grew up with 5 siblings in Grand Rapids and Marshall, Michigan.  She attended Michigan State University.  She found Michigan to be lacking in job opportunities. She and some of her siblings eventually left Michigan to pursue professional careers.

Roxi describes herself as an educator.  She has lived and worked in many places, including Virginia and Jamaica, while raising her three children.  She worked for Virginia Tech as an Ag Educator for several years, and has had about 25 different jobs prior to landing in Hudson.

She describes her place in Hudson as temporary, and she discusses her position as an outsider.  She shares her observations of the “bitter” divisions among Hudson residents, including which side of “the bridge” one comes from, and whether one is a new business owner or a long-term resident of Hudson facing gentrification. She describes the difficulty she has had forming friendships in Hudson given her status as an outsider. She describes her own practice of pursuing spiritual growth, and her participation in several meditation communities in the greater Hudson area, including the Peace Village, a Brahma Kumaris retreat center.

This interview may be of interest to those who want to learn about one outsider’s perspective of Hudson, NY