Superstar

Everybody wants to be somebody. Far to often in the inner city this means you want to be a professional athlete and if you can't play sports you better know how to rap. But what if you can't do either?

It was a beautiful day in the city. A light breeze, low humidity, and payday. The kids were out of school, running on the sidewalks, parents sitting on their stoop laughing, drinking, and living in the moment. Not a care in the world, as it should be on a day like this.

Deshawntay's mother who just picked him up from daycare yells at the top of her lungs, "Get back ova' here Tay, don't you run in that street!" His ball had just bounced across the street coming to a stop under a parked Ford Explorer. A burly man steps out of the vehicle with a smile on his face walks around and grabs the ball. He walks across the street towards the daycare the sun still shining reflecting off his hand toward my window. As he hands the ball to Deshawntay's mother she thanks him and he walks back waving to everyone sitting outside the daycare.

It was the driver! How could I forget realizing this was the same truck that Mr. Boots had entered the previous day. How could this be? He was a criminal a drug dealer supplying Mr. Boots and associates their narcotics. This man middle aged, well fed man appeared to be the complete opposite of what a drug dealer is supposed to look like. Mr. Boots and friends wore baggy pants, baseball caps, hoodies, the standard urban city attire. The driver wearing loafers and polo shirt tucked into a pair of ironed jeans appeared to be the complete opposite, more uptown than downtown.

As he walked back towards his vehicle Tommy, who lives in the corner house across the street arrived home from a hard days work. He was a contractor who rehabbed houses while rehabbing his own house when work was slow. The Driver gives Tommy a dap before he heads inside after a log days work. As the Driver leans against Tommy's pickup several people slowly gather around. One a female driver pulls up in the same make and model vehicle that the Driver uses, a Ford Explorer. She waits before exiting, then one of the young men standing with the Driver approaches, removes a bag from the vehicle and places it into the Drivers vehicle and enters the Explorer the women just exited. The driver enters his vehicle along with Mr. Boots who hands over money for the bag and they both exit, the Driver never touching the bag. The driver switches vehicles and leaves in the truck the woman exited. The remaining crowd proceed to discuss a matter of random topics before walking off in random directions with one leaving in the truck the driver arrived in.

Everybody receives an education. Outside or inside you learn what you are taught. Inside you learn math, science, maybe a foreign language. Outside you learn how to survive, you learn how to put food on the table. If you start inside you'll have an opportunity to go onto college and receive a higher education. If you stay outside you better go on to be a superstar if not there's always the block.