Ever since my
encounter with a drug dealer a few months ago, I have mostly been turned off to them, and quite honestly a little scared of going back there. I have served lunches in the outskirts of the park where the drug dealers hang out, and I have really wanted to go back there, but I was not wanting to have an encounter with them like I have in the past.
Yesterday it was raining, which means most people are inside and there aren't that many people walking around. We had to work a little harder to find people, which always reminds me of how isolated anyone can become. When rain hits, we head for shelter. Out of the open and in to the places where the rain can't touch us. Sometimes those places can be filled with friends and families, and other times those can be places of isolation. I know what the outside of the buildings look like in the hood, I can't imagine what the insides of those places look like.
I drove around the block where the drug dealers hang out, and saw a drug deal going down, my enthusiastic friend, never having witnessed a drug deal going down, was so excited that she was able to experience that for the first time. So we went around the block thinking that when we circled back, they would be finished with their transaction, and it would be safer to give them a lunch. They were done, and we gave both of them a lunch. It is easy to figure out who the drug dealers are, because they are dressed much nicer than anyone else around there. This drug dealer looked pretty mean, but he was a nice enough guy, and we gave him a lunch and he thanked us.
We had to drive around quite a bit to find people, and when a car is driving around in circles in that area, it most often means that someone is looking for drugs. A guy waved us down, and I knew why he was waving at us (to offer us drugs), and so we drove over to where he was at. I rolled down the passenger window, he leaned his head down, and with a big smile, he said, "whats up?". This translates to: what kind of drugs would you like today? I smiled back and told him we have some lunches and asked him if he was hungry. He paused for just a second, and he figured out who we were, and he laughed and asked us what was in the lunch. He didn't care for ham sandwiches, but he asked for a water, and we gladly gave it to him.
He was the nicest drug dealer I have ever met. If I bought drugs, I would go to that guy every day. There was something about him that was just pleasant to be around. He was encouraging, he had a nice smile, and he was happy to serve me.
It was refreshing to have a pleasant interaction with people in that area. It is so hard to know what to expect going there because when people are on drugs, they are unpredictable. The
Hispanic community center is very predictable. Smiles, everyone is glad we are there, the language barrier always makes communication a little difficult, but it is really fun. Drugs are just bad news. The addiction binds people up so that it makes them very difficult to be around. It isolates people to a certain way of life that isn't good for them and not good for the people around them.
When I meet a guy like that, it renews my hope and my purpose for going down to that part of town. I give them what I can, and be there in the ways that I am able to. I can only hope that they receive even a fraction of the joy I experience.
