What’s up people?
Happy RAMADAN KAREEM to all my brothers and sisters this holy month in Islam. I must say I woke up today at 4:00am anxious and ready to start my month long fast with some trepidation though. I do not know if it is the heat wave outside or the longer than normal summer days that have me a little worried and concerned but I got a plan. I am going to attack this month like my track & field coach always taught me in preparation for my 400 meter sprint. Get out fast the first one hundred meters, settle-in the next 100, make my move on the turn heading into 3rd 100 meters and finish the home stretch with a MAJOR KICK. Now that is WINNING! ALL PRAISES Be To ALLAH. Looks and sounds like a solid plan but my problem is I have not run the 400 meters in a competitive track & field invitation in over 18 years. Looool.
Ok people; let me get focused…
This week I want to tell you all about something funny but very real that I encountered a few days back. I was all ready and good to show a condo of mine to a prospective tenant in DC when something bizarre happened. My appointment was running late but no big deal, I am use to people being late because I am always 15 minutes early to everything. So the young lady finally calls me to apologize and then says, “am so sorry but my roommate had driven by the neighborhood and was so sketched out with the people outside congregating that she drove off and unfortunately we will not be interested in the showing”. SMH! All I could do was SMILE and find the whole incident very amusing. Hey, this is the District of Columbia, formally known as CHO-CO-LATE CITY. That’s what folks typically do during the day when they have no job and no money in their pockets and every little young knuckle head is aspiring to be the biggest Dope Boy on the block. So I am sorry if the neighborhood those not quite fit your plush, sheltered, little buppy community you grew up in while living in Massachusetts.
Would you believe that within the next 24 hours after my little experience with the Steel Magnolia people I had another similar encounter, but this time around it possibly was worse as a young college student and her mother refused to get out of their Mercedes SUV to view my condo? Why you may ask; well once again, the little knuckle head Dope Boys were all outside once again congregating in front of their stoop. Only this time I was left with a big SMILE and a shake of my head in both disbelief and disgust at the mother/daughter. I literally could not comprehend why/how some people just give away their powers to others for no apparent reason. But I also think I was experiencing a classic case of when Black people forget and lose touch with their own kind.
So whether its white flight or gentrification these two phenomenon are present day issues all races have to work through. But the next time you find yourself in the inner city and come across a group of young black males who appear to be doing absolutely nothing constructive with their time, rather than flee, walk up to them like I do in my grown man SWAGG and engage them. Introduce yourself, make small talk with them and let them know “Yo; this is not a good look with all of you guys always outside looking very suspect”. Keep it 100 with them at all times and before you know it you will come to find out those same Dope Boys are now your unofficial police surveillance on your neighborhood block. The funny thing is they would not have it any other way and every time I come through the neighborhood to handle my affairs the Dope Boys always show me LOVE.
Have No FEAR.
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