Spiritual Renewal, Pt. 2

I meant to write this post on Monday, but I got laid the fuck out with the flu for a couple of days. [update] I've now been trying to finish this post for a week.

I left off talking about my slow slide into emotional oblivion regarding my father's death. I don't know that I've hit rock bottom with this thing yet, I'd like to think that I have, but it seems kind of unlikely based on what others have told me about dealing with the death of a parent.

I had been feeling shitty (not physically, emotionally) all last week, but the lone bright spot was that Ta-Nehisi Coates had a book signing coming up in College Park that I planned to attend. If you haven't read his book "The Beautiful Struggle" run, don't walk, to your nearest book store and pick up a copy. Just like I try not to be too hard on stupid motherfuckers, I also try not to sweat dudes too much that I think are cool, smart, tough, or whatever. I mean, no one wants to be a dick rider, right?

But rules are made to be broken, so here goes the one time you will catch me on someone's tip like this. I won't go so far as to say this is the best book that I've ever read or that it's my favorite book of all time; I'll need to read and re-read the book several more times before I'll be comfortable making that pronouncement, but this book did speak to me in a way that no other book I have ever read has.

In the same way that "Catcher in the Rye" has been a cultural touchstone for generations or "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is practically required reading for teenagers, "The Beautiful Struggle" deserves a place in the pantheon of great American coming of age stories. "The Beautiful Struggle" is an instant classic, written in a unique style that seamlessly melds literature and hip-hop into a brilliant narrative about fathers, sons, and the journey from boy to man.

Needless to say, I was very excited to meet Ta-Nehisi at his book signing. When I arrived I saw Ta-Nehisi browsing through the store so I approached him and introduced myself. I shared all of the thoughts above with him and he seemed to be truly humbled and grateful that his book evoked such a strong reaction from me. As cool as it was to meet Ta-Nehisi, it was a total mind blower to meet his father, Mr. Paul Coates, who was there that evening. Even though I had only read the book a few months before I had forgotten how funny it was and it took on a whole new life when I heard its author reading it in his own voice.

BigDaddyRat was a man who loved to read and he shared that love with me, it was one of the many, many gifts he gave me over the course of our time together. In some ways, I guess my upbringing led me to (incorrectly) believe that I was the only young Black man out there that was into Sci-Fi, that liked to read, and saw no disconnect with those things and being Black. So in that context it was reassuring and comforting to be at that book signing, to know that "The Beautiful Struggle" spoke to others in the same that it spoke to me.

Being at Vertigo with some other Black men of letters was exactly what I needed that evening. It gave me a sense of spiritual renewal to feel, to know, that no matter how isolated I may feel or be at a given moment, that I'm a link in a chain.

I had a rough couple of weeks, but for the time being I'm on the upswing.

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At the Barber Shop

My man Darios just opened up his own shop called District Cutters that's located behind the new cigar joint on Florida, I met him when we was cutting at Mason's down on H St. The place is small, only three chairs, but newly finished so it's super comfortable and clean.

I recognize the other barber that was there from Mason's but I don't know his name, it turns out that this other barber, Darios, and the dude waiting with me for a cut are all from Boston. It was interesting to hear these cats old-timing about Boston; talking about the bus routes they used to take and getting chased out of Cambridge by the brothers that lived there. For all the hue and cry about young Black men and how everyone is so afraid of them, the real truth is that they're much more of a danger to each other than they are to everyone else. I say "they" because me and the other bros at the barbershop yesterday are all in our mid to late 30's, we are (for the most part) out of the danger zone; we have been lucky and/or smart enough to make it past the years when an error in judgment was more likely to be fatal or land us in jail.

All the years that I was cutting my own hair I forgot the sense of spiritual renewal that I tend to get from going to the barber shop. I know that sounds kind of corny, but there's really nothing quite like it. Where else can you go where you will find preachers, teachers, thugs, cops, executives, janitors, politicians, construction workers, etc. all existing in perfect harmony? The barber shop is neutral ground, everyone leaves their bullshit at the door and is free to speak their mind. Sometimes that freedom to speak your mind leads people to say some unbelievably stupid things, like the time these guys were speculating that all White people were pre-disposed towards bestiality. I probably should have said something to the contrary, but I was laughing too hard at the ridiculous anecdotes being related to make any kind of strong argument. Still, just listening that day gave me some interesting insight into how whack stereotypes come into being.

There was also a dope ass classic Impala parked outside too, check it out.

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