Unsilencing Stories

Episode 18: Roland Soobotin Remembers his Friend Frank

March 25, 2023 Unsilencing Stories
Unsilencing Stories
Episode 18: Roland Soobotin Remembers his Friend Frank
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode you will hear Santana Jones speaking with Roland Soobotin in Cranbrook B.C. about his childhood friend, Frank, who died of alcoholism at age 49. 

Jenna Keeble 00:00

Unsilencing Stories is a podcast that reflects the voices of people in small towns and communities in Canada, who have lost loved ones to the toxic drug supply crisis. Since 2016. More than 30,000 people have died from fatal overdoses in Canada and that number continues to climb. The risk in smaller towns and communities is much higher than urban areas because of a lack of harm reduction services, and stigma against substance use and people who use drugs. This podcast is part of a community based participatory research project facilitated by Aaron Goodman, Ph.D., a faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C., along with students Jenna Keeble and Ashley Pocrnich. 

The aim was to assist collaborators in publicly memorializing their loved ones and expressing grief as well as challenging silences imposed by dominant media organizations and stigma from society against substance use and people who use drugs. We hope these nuanced stories make it clear why the government needs to be doing more to prevent further deaths. Please note this podcast contains information about overdose death, grief and trauma that may be distressing to listen to. In this episode, you'll hear Santana Jones speaking with Roland Soobotin in Cranbrook, B.C. Roland remembers his childhood friend Frank who died of alcoholism at age 49.

 

Santana 01:16

Tell me your first and last name.

 

Roland 01:19

My first name is Roland, my last name is Soobotin. 

 

Santana 01:22

Where do you live? 

 

Roland 01:23

I live in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada.

 

Santana 01:27

Is there one person you would like to speak about who died from an overdose?

 

Roland 01:32

Yes, Frank. 

 

Santana 01:34

Their age? 

 

Roland 01:35

They were 49, I believe.

 

Santana 01:38

Where did they live? 

 

Roland 01:39

In High Level, Alberta, Canada.

 

Santana 01:42

Could you describe a moment or time that you shared together?

 

Roland 01:47

Yeah, he helped my family. hH painted our house for like half the cost.

 

Santana 01:52

What do you remember about him most?

 

Roland 01:55

He had a serious drinking problem. 

 

Santana 01:58

Tell me about him. 

 

Roland 01:59

He was a great guy. Unfortunately had an alcohol problem and he was often shamed in the community because of his drinking problem. But once you got to know him, he was actually a very, very great man.

 

Santana 02:10

What's your first memory of him?

 

Roland 02:13

Finding the alcohol bottles in his shed when me and my friend were trying to fix our bikes.

 

Santana 02:18

What is your best memory of him?

 

Roland 02:21

When he helped my family out to paint in our house for about half the cost.

 

Santana 02:24

What did he mean to you?

 

Roland 02:26

He just taught me a lot about alcohol issues and his struggle.

 

Santana 02:33

Are you comfortable about talking about his death? 

 

Roland 02:37

Yep. 

 

Santana 02:38

Okay, how did he die?

 

Roland 02:40

He died of an alcohol overdose, and he basically just stopped breathing.

 

Santana 02:44

What was the hardest thing about losing him?

 

Roland 02:47

I think just how he was shamed in the community because most people didn't know him and everyone just assumed he was a drunk, that was of no use and that was very unfair.

 

Santana 02:57

If he were here today, what would you ask him?

 

Roland 03:00

I would ask him to look after his son.

 

Santana 03:04

What do you miss about him?

 

Roland 03:06

I miss how good of a guy he was. He was, he was a great human being.

 

Santana 03:10

What did he look like?

 

Roland 03:13

Oh, it's hard to describe. He was Caucasian. average height, he had a big nose. It's hard to describe him. 

 

Santana 03:22

Was he? Was he Russian? 

 

Roland 03:24

No, I don't believe so, he was Hungarian. But I think sometimes we would call him Frank the Tank.

 

Santana 03:31

Did he ever give you any nicknames?

 

Roland 03:34

He called me and my best friend, he said we were partners in crime. That's probably as close as I can get to a nickname.

 

Santana 03:41

How would you describe his personality?

 

Roland 03:45

Very friendly, very easygoing, very nice, very caring. 

 

Santana 03:50

Was he chronically late or early? 

 

Roland 03:53

I would say he was late. He was early. He was a very hard worker. So, he's very dedicated to his job.

 

Santana 04:00

Do you have any funny stories you would like to tell about the times that you spent together?

 

Roland 04:05

I mean, he wasn't there. But one of the funniest memories I have is when he convinced his wife that he had quit drinking. Me and my friend were trying to fix our bikes and we went into the tool shed to get tools and they had all these boxes labeled and every box was just empty alcohol bottles. 

 

Santana 04:24

If they would drop by tomorrow for a visit, what would your day be like spent together look like?

 

Roland 04:30

Honestly, I think it'd be a day spent with his son. I know his son misses him a lot. I think an ideal day would be him and his son together. 

 

Santana 04:39

What type of music did he listen to?

 

Roland 04:41

I think he liked the old school, Rock and Roll like 70s 80s.

 

Santana 04:45

How did he impact your life?

 

Roland 04:48

He just taught me a lot that addicts are unfortunately frowned upon often and given a bad image in the community and that wasn't the case. He was often portrayed as a very bad human being because of a drinking problem but if you actually knew the guy who he was, he was a great human being.

 

Santana 05:06

How will you honor his memory?

 

Roland 05:09

Honestly, probably through an eagle and we really liked eagles. Every time I see an eagle, I think of him.

 

Santana 05:15

What do you wish you would have said to him before he died?

 

Roland 05:19

I would've told him to look after his son. Unfortunately, he chose alcohol over his son, and he died young and it kind of messed up his son, but I guess would have been nice to see him take more care of his son instead of worrying about his alcohol addiction.

 

Jenna Keeble 05:33

That brings us to the end of this episode of the Unsilencing Stories podcast. To listen to more interviews in the series, please go to www.unsilencingstories.com, and if you'd like to share your thoughts on the episode, message us at unsilencingstories@gmail.com. Thank you so much for listening and please share the project with other people you know.