Here Be Dragons

2007-04-13

The autobiography of Malcom X is a window into a world that I could never imagine. After becoming withdrawn he left home for Boston to stay with his half sister. He found the middle class blacks stuck up and putting on airs. He preferred the poorer blacks as at least they were authentic. He learned to be quite a dandy lindy-hopping and wearing zoot suits. He eventually hooked up with a striking blonde white woman and enjoyed some status although both parties knew it would never be formalized.

Eventually he took a job on a train and discovered New York which meant harlem. It was FULL of authentic hustlers and musicians and he took to it like a duck to water. He knew with his first visit that he would move there, and he did. His white lover would come and visit him and he went from being a waiter to selling weed and then because he had his old train ID he could hop a train for free and follow musicians selling them weed. This became a neccessity as he had become hot in harlem and lived in fear of having a cop plant evidence on him out of frustration that they could never catch him with it on him.

He met and hung with all the big swing and jazz bands of the time and was counted as a friend by the black ones. Basie, Ellington etc. He even knew Red Foxx as a dishwasher before he became famous. Harlem was a fount of creativity and opportunity for the blacks of the time. It was current and hip to go there, even as a white, and there were places whites could go and be safe.

But I can see that he's about to be arrested and I'll probably read that on the way home.

Fred is working from home today and hopefully caulking my bedroom so I can paint it tomorrow. I think today is my last day commuting to Boston and all future classes are in Waltham. I scheduled it that way on purpose and now after driving it I can't believe I was so stupid. It costs a little less to drive to Waltham but the time involved and the traffic is horrible and I don't get to sleep in longer like I thought I would. I have some time between my next class and now and I'm going to start taking my qualification tests to get certified.

Study, study, study!

I have someone in my linkers that is named kewlll yet when I try to see his or her's journal it's a blank page with no profile or notes. It's obviously a blank journal so that they can keep track of their daily reads and find out when someone goes red.

I am flattered that you read me but could you drop me a line about who you are?

Thanks :)

I never gave my brother in Hawaii this URL but I want to wish him a Happy Birthday anyhow to remind my family members that do read here. I think he's 49 today. God we're getting old and I just know my siblings are betting on me dropping dead first!

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