Good Use of An Empty Lot
Today was a Raheim and Jamay day. We played some softball. Their dad bought them each gloves so we could play. Raheim has a natural talent for sports, he can hit the ball to the fence with ease. He’s a very aggressive kid. His brother, Jamay, is very softspoken and wise beyond his 9 yrs and patiently puts up with his brother’s constant harrassment.
We took extra time to get Jamay’s batting skills up to speed. I noticed Jamay was having trouble focusing on the ball, whether it’s catching or hitting. I said what is it that makes you mad? He talks to me a lot about kids who pick on him and people stealing his stuff from his yard. Raheim and I said, ‘pretend this ball is that thing’. Raheim added, ‘Pretend this ball is Hurrican Katrina’. We coached Jamay on his swing and pitched to him until his hands got tired. He definitely got better and more confident as the day went on. We had a lot of fun. While we played some casual catch, Jamay tells me his dad used to coach baseball, then he reminded me, he’s in jail. I said, well, be sure to tell him you are playin’ some ball.
When the sun came out from behind the clouds and breeze died down, we opted to go in and play computer games. We ate some chicken nuggets and fruit.
Raheim showed me that he has own MySpace file. It has some wording about “getz my money bitches” “9wd” and photos of his family. . . and a Soulja Slim rap track, which he obviously loves. Someone set this up for him, obviously. The space has a photo of his dad, who works at PetSmart. His dad is going to get him some bling on his teeth. There is also a photo of his cousin which neither of them like and who also happens to have been arrested for armed robbery. There’s a photo of their younger sister . . . oh, and an aunt who was cheerfully giving the world the bird.
Jamay is amazingly mild mannered, the exact opposite of his brother. Jamay said he likes school and is best at math. He admits he struggles with reading. We talk about the cats in the neighborhood. Jamay is not afraid to tell me that he prefers cats because they have a calm disposition, compared to dogs, partly because he likes a pet he can cuddle quietly. Raheim, however, insists on scaring the cats. They said they saw a Raccoon on Iberville this week !
At some point, Raheim was outside and ran into someone canvassing the hood who handed him a flyer announcing “Free School Supplies” over at Victory Fellowship on Broad. I found them a bookbag not in use and they stormed out to score some school loot.
The event was supported by Lifesongs 89.1 FM. The radio station donated the bulk of the supplies and the rest were donated by listeners at various drives. I spoke to organizers and they said they did little in the way of publicizing it on the ground but the place was packed. People were up and down the street with their bags of supplies. Volunteers I met were from New York and some as far away as Australia to help with this program. I know it made Raheim and Jamay really excited about school!
Related posts:
I seriously want to hug these kids.
Not that they’d like that. :)
t’s a wonderful feeling when you can touch and turn someone on to something new and unique.