life lessons from a random black man in adam's morgan...

today has been a day of learning for this west coaster...

LA-— the other intern in the theatre dept., showed up this morning explaining how he (a larger in stature black man that i wouldn't mess with even with a million dollars in my pocket and a gun in my hand) almost got mugged... he was just walking by his house to get to the bus and these two 17-year-old kids circled him like they was going to get all up in his face and he just jumped on the one until he was sufficiently scared (while the other kid ran) and then he too joined his cowardly accomplice. i guess as he was walking away, he was telling his grandmother bout it on the phone when he watched some middle-aged woman get her purse snatched, right in front of 30 or so people, including a military officer who all just sat and watched the poor woman run after the guy in her heels....

that was my morning...

in the evening, i discovered the greatness that is "adam's morgan." it is the original harlem area where the black jazz babies got their start. i will be returning as soon as humanly possible.

as we first round the corner into the strip of fun places to check out we run into a guy that randomly says as we pass, "your dad said you are supposed to call him" to my date. ok... whatev. note to self: crazies are abundant—be. ware.

my eclectic date (everyone is using that word right now, btw, it is like my first semester at byu when everyone said "ambiguous" all the time...random.) took me to an area with a little band playing in the window, and before we went inside, i got an urban vernacular lesson from the random man sitting against the window to "feel the vibes." i do enjoy the occasional reggae vibe pulsating through my back...

as we sat there with him he explained that "people just don't respect the crown of david anymore. ya know what that is right? the crown of david? david's crown? dreadlocks."
it goes with the Rastafarian belief that the dreads represent power because of the Nazarites mentioned in the bible that wore them... Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist...etc. interesting.

we asked him if he had them (he had a hat on) and he said "no, because I just graduated college"
ah. I would hate to have dreads weighing down my college experience...
"you do know what college is, right?"
am i stupid? no... i did that for like 7 years, thanks...
"round here, we call 'college' prison"
cause you entered a new school of thought? or because it was four years of sleep..?

then he told us the place to be was across the way, cept it dun been shut down on account of the "batties" took em over and they shut it down not two weeks ago...

me: ok. so what are "batties"
random black man: you know.
me: no, actually, i don't.
random black man: think about it honey...
me: still don't know actually...
random black man: like a girl batty... or a boy batty?
me: sorry?
random black man: like gays.
me: i'm so using that.

then we went inside the little reggae bar...
the band was yummy, playing mostly classic reggae that you would recognize, only they were better... and live. we got drinks and danced a bit. note: this is a small place- so like 20 people at best, and we were 2 of 4 white people.... one, who perhaps didn't see my male friend and therefore my sexual orientation because she invaded some serious personal space trying to make me "feel the music" with her. thank you date for saving me.
apparently this place also serves west african food, so i will be back to discover what that entails. can it be bad? i submit that it cannot.

then we met up with the rest of the group over at "tryst" more of a coffee/jazz/cafe/diner=type place... also very moderny with an old town feel and totally different atmosphere. also loved it.

glad to get a taste of the underworld of DC. i love love the embedded culture and heart of the place. so much to learn and so little time. we almost went salsa/latin dancing too... but alas—no shoes. next outing will perhaps give me the jitter bug release i am looking for...