An Ode to Harlem
In 2002 I used to work on 127th street in Harlem around the corner from the Apollo where Harlem can’t help but be as Harlem as possible. There were so many colorful characters I’d see on my way to and around work from the mobile pharmaceutical providers who wanted to learn how to use the internet. They’d pepper me with questions of the legalities of what they could include in their newly created email accounts..
MPP — “Hey man, you’re smart dude, so now that I have this email what can I legally include in it?”
Me — “uh.. dunno because I’m not a lawyer”
MPP — “so can the feds read my emails and if they can would they know what I mean if I’m not really saying it?”
Me — “still not a lawyer and I have no experience in your line of work so I can’t even attempt to answer that question”
MPP — “I think I know what you’re saying” *tries to dap me*
Me — “uh.. that I’m still not a lawyer?”
MPP — “thanks man, you’re a good dude”
Me — *clearing throat and hoping he isn’t thinking of me when the feds roll up*
There also was some woman rapper who everyone seemed to know but no one seemed to care about. She seemed to shoot videos pretty regularly but no one wanted to be in them. I remember seeing her on a flatbed being pulled by a truck rapping into a camera and multiple people just sighed and shook their heads saying “she’s doing another video? Already?”
The most colorful of characters was this dude who would walk down the street the break out into martial arts moves against his arch nemesis The Air. Dude would stop traffic because he’d get into a fight with the air in the middle of the avenue. We even saw him near the Bronx once punching and kicking with a gusto winning against the air. I hope that dude got some help though…
There was something so beautiful about the good and the bad of working in Harlem from having a few stray bullets in the awning of the store as I opened up one morning (some dude apologized and said he’d “handle the guy who did it” because they were “disrespecting my store” and he didn’t like that… I asked him not to. To getting approached after I was jacked by my employer (that bamma still owes me a stack) offering to seek justice on my behalf (I turned that down too). As someone who never felt at home anywhere I’d lived Harlem was like that big dude that wraps his arms around you and decides you all are ace friends and I’ll always love it for that.
