A blunt and a Conversation

I live in a great neighborhood. It is called Lauraville and is in North East Baltimore near Morgan State University. In a recent article it was referred to as one of Baltimore's more 'undiscovered' communities... meaning you can still get a large single family home for an affordable price.

Anyway, we love it and have enjoyed getting to know our neighbors one of whom is a single mom with several young men/teenagers living in the house. In case you haven't been around young black men in Urban America recently... one goal of these guys is basically to appear hard. So many of them don't know how to respond when their new neighbor does something which many of us consider to be normal... that is act friendly toward them.

I am the guy who yells across the street, "What's up man." I usually get a strange look and if I am lucky a nod and a "whassup" back. However, one of these young cats (slang for young men) has always been extra friendly with me. It seems like anytime we are outside at the same time he makes it a point to holler across the street at me. For some reason he wants to know me and hang out.

On New Years Eve I saw him out front and went across the street to talk with him. I found out I am about 10 years older than him and he recently got fired from his job but had found another one at a local pizza joint. He promised to give me 50% off on pizza. He asked me if I smoked to which I replied "yes" because I thought he was talking about cigars. Then I noticed he was referring to the blunt of marajuana he had in his hand to which I replied, "no." I rarely smoke a cigar and don't smoke weed. He told me of his plans to quit for awhile noting that he was tired of paying for it and that it wasn't helping him much in life. Even still he lit it up and smoked it like it was a cigarette right on the sidewalk in the middle of the afternoon.

I invited him to a new years day party we were having the next day. He didn't show up but promised me he would. I guess I was just glad to get to know this guy and I know somehow a piece of the gospel got through when a 29 year old white family man invites a 19 year old blunt smoking baltimore kid into his home.