“My father died of a heart attack when I was eight. So my mother played the role of mother and father. She had four children to raise, so she had to go back to work full time. I know it was hard for her, but she always put on a brave face. I remember three days after Dad died, she was knocking on our doors, saying: ‘Get up! It’s time for school.’ And we said,
‘But Daddy just died.’ And she said,
‘And he’d want you to go to school!’
Pretty much her whole life was lived for other people. She always seemed to take herself out of the equation. Even when her cancer got really bad, she’d come home from the hospital, and she’d be broken hearted about the OTHER patients. She was always saying how broken hearted she was over all the young people she saw with cancer.”
“There are two books in America: one for the poor and one for the rich. The poor person does a crime, and gets 40 years. A rich person gets a slap on the wrist for the same crime. They say that the poor person doesn’t want to work and the poor person just wants a handout. Well I picked cotton until I was thirteen, left Alabama and got my education in the streets of New York. I drove a long distance truck all my life and never once drew welfare, never once took food stamps either. I sent four kids to college. But they say all poor people do is sit around with a quart of beer. Look in this bag next to me. I’ve got three things in this bag next to me: a Red Bull, a Pepsi, and Draino, because my drain is clogged. But you see, even if I do everything right, I still have to play by the poor book.”
“I’m having a hard time trusting in The Process.”
“What process?”
“The process that says if I do my part, everything will turn out right.”
He said: “Do what makes you happy.”
I said: “And what makes you happy?”
He said nothing, but patted his son on the back.
“I got hooked on crack for a few years after I found out that I had HIV. There was a bunch of us that picked up cans and bottles all day to get money. It was a blessing that I kicked the habit. Because that was fifteen years ago, and every time I go to East Harlem, I still see some of those same faces picking up bottles.”
“Do me a favor. Send this pic to every modeling agency in town, and tell them you’ve found a face that will really make people stop and stare at their products.”
“When I was 20, I made a plan to get a good job and be secure. Now I’m 35, and I need a plan to be happy.”
foto di Humans of New York.
