My [New York City] Love Affair

He plays the beat on white plastic buckets turned upside down on the corner of W. 4^th and 6^th Avenue. And it’s the sweetest beat I’ve ever heard so I take the headphones out from both ears and sit for awhile. I think about how far the universe can actually go. I write a couple verses in my notebook and then continue on my way. On the next block I walk by a man surrounded by bags and old blankets, and as my keys jingle in my hand he looks at them and then at me, our eyes meet and his pierce mine like he doesn’t have a door to unlock tonight. And I stop for a second but I don’t know what to do so I keep walking. It’s getting colder and the wind circles down around my neck so I dig out the navy blue and white striped scarf I shoved down to the bottom of my bag this morning. I wrap it tightly around my head a few times and think about moving to San Diego. What is with these places that are sunny and warm all the time? ...forget about it. I walk a few more blocks and up the three flights to my apartment. Last night one of the infamous neighbors who shares my alleyway yelled at me, "Shut the fuck up!" ...I was a little caught off guard since I was in the middle of an animated conversation. But it was after midnight and I realized at that moment that to him, I'm the one who has become the annoying neighbor keeping him up at night with my phone calls. 

It's been a full year since my return to the city and it couldn't have been better if I'd written it myself.  I guess I sort of did. The holidays are back again and with them come the expected spiced rum and hot apple cider, ice skating and tree lighting ceremony, office parties. But everything seems different when I'm in the middle of a love story that makes me want to don a paper crown and drink my soup straight from the bowl while wearing superhero pajamas. You could say It's a Wonderful Life.

A few weeks ago I helped put on the 2^nd Annual Toy drive for SOMWA. The SOMWA Foundation is an acronym for “Survivors of Mothers with AIDS," and was founded by Shacazia Brown, who lost her own mother to AIDS at the age of 23, overnight becoming the legal guardian to all of her siblings.   http://www.thesomwafoundation.com/home.html

I first met Shacazia a year ago and she told me, “I want to go to Africa, can you help make that happen?” Ten months later she was on her way and staying with my sister Neema's parents. When Shacazia returned from her visit, she shared with me that with the help of SOMWA, and with a newly formulated plan, she'll be able to build a new desperately needed primary school in the village of Kajiado, where she stayed. And just like the fairy dust that makes you fly when you think happy thoughts, next October I will be traveling with her and a group back to Kenya to start construction of the new school. Bangerang.  

I’m on a holiday high, 'tis the season...