Arthur Brodie is a philosopher.
The grey-haired Franklin-county native works the counter at the Subway on West Campus these days, but the origins of his philosphy trace back to a lifetime spent in the workforce.
"I've been on this corner ever since 1956," Brodie says with a mumbled Southern drawl. "I like the community, I reckon."
He has a simple theory about money and politics.
"Life is about money. The bottom line: Everything boil down to money," he says matter-of-factly. "Everybody need money. If you get to the point you don't need money, there's something wrong with you."
As a child, Brodie did "some of everything" on his family's farm. Then, along with his siblings, he fought in the first integrated army unit in the Korean War.
When he returned to North Carolina in 1956, Brodie picked up a shovel and helped build the Duke Golf Course. In the years that followed, he worked on-and-off at Duke and took a second job as a porter and janitor at a local department store. By then the tumultuous Civil Rights movement had begun.
"I think I learned a little bit about life, the politics of life," he explains.
Money inevitably leads to politics, and Brodie now tells his young coworkers the truth about life.
"Everybody got their own politics," he explains, as he shoots a casual glance at the cash register.
"I don't try to be a political pawn. I don't care about a rat race."
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