Carnaval Duty & A Strange Exchange of Words...
Current mood: 
Mmmmmmm...I had one busy day in the middle of my three day weekend & it felt like it sucked up most of my energy. It was Carnval on Sunday afternoon, I had to face the music, errr...crowds & it was a bit after the parade winded down. Wow! 
Anyway, it was all "goodness"...it looked like everyone was having a good time but man by the time we packed up near 6:00 p.m. there was still a sizable crowd & the sun shining as evah'...it was cool b/c I bumped into a few old friends, some hula sistahs', some old middle school friends even & then even some family...I tell ya', the power of e-mail works sometimes, you don't know who will come out ;) It was almost like a family/ school/ hobbies reunion all in one...baha!
Ummmm...the one incident I had though, was that I was munching on some catfish & chips for lunch (can I say my peeps were manning the booth, hard workin' as evah') & this guy who was sweeping up the trash on the streets, was pausing for a moment, just lookin' at the trash heap/ pile high mess that was accumulating from the overcrowding / the partying on a late Sunday afternoon...I looked at him, smiled...he acknowledged my smile & said, "I tell ya' honey, I made more money dealin' drugs but now I'm out here doin' this, sweepin' that, pickin' up after y'all & MAN! I wouldn't trade me freedom for anything in the world but right now, can I confess to you, dearheart, I'm feelin' mighty humble right now...I mean, man! It's hard for me right now..." I looked at him smiled, took a swig of my soda, then looked him dead straight in da' eye & said, "You know, that's all you have to be thankful for that you moved beyond what you thought was "flyin'" for you before & remember yourself this way b/c the only way from here is up... we are all humbled every day in some way, here's one way you are humbled...also, you're very lucky that you're not in jail still or not to scare you, just not here at all, in a coffin, 6 feet under, maybe? Remember that, hold on to that." I smiled again at him, more reassuring & said, "God Bless you, b/c you are blessed." He smiled at me, gave me sincere one, too...not that fake PR stuff that I can spot b/c well, I'm in that game, so to speak...then he said, "Thanks, sweetheart, that's all the push I needed...", then he went about his work...
I don't know, I felt good about that, like I nudged him towards forging through it, remembering the big picture even when it's hard; the work is hard but it's for a bigger thing that's beyond him, well, it is about him, to help him more but again, what's beyond him is that if he's from that neighborhood if my small suggestion helped him not to become down on himself in any way or even worse, not turn to drugs or deal again, then, I felt good about that ...hmmmm, I not sayin' I'm some holier-than-thou martyr but that felt good to have a "meaningful" exchange like that during my day when I felt like I was just doling out the daily work I do everyday, not that my work isn't meaningless but that touched me in some way ...sitting there on Harrison St. while I took my little break. Exchanges like that sometimes don't come often & sometimes, I feel like I tend to draw certain people in/ a certain aura that comes without me knowing it...I can't even explain it; if you knew my close friends, they will tell you. Like people will tell me very, close personal things straight up sometimes or they'll say they feel like they've seen me before or knew me somewhere else or went to school with them...it's very strange...maybe, I looked like someone they knew...I FEEL/ LOOK/ SOUND familiar to most people sometimes...it always surprises me & I hope I never feel NOT surprised by it b/c I think to me it can be only good, like, an unexpected gift...but again, that familiarity some people feel gets them to open up in unique ways, just how that stranger did...
 | Currently listening: Bag Lady By Erykah Badu Release date: By 28 August, 2000 |
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