April 22, 2015
(This is part
of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on
each day's gift.)
After a day filled with chores, medical check-ups
and scheduling further medical appointments (all routine), it was a pleasure to
spend some time with Troy at New Beginnings Barbershop. His shop is not only a
barbershop but an art gallery too. The purpose of our meeting today was to
discuss details about the opening of a group exhibit I’ve put together with
members of my photography group, Creative Exposure Baltimore.
Just five minutes away, about 1 ½ miles, a protest
was happening over the death of Freddie Gray which followed his April 12 arrest. It has
become yet another incident concerning white police officers and black men. Before
we started talking about the exhibit, we watched live news
on television showing the protesters. I kept shaking my head and thinking, It
is crazy that this is happening in 2015. I was eight years old when Brown
versus the Board of Education resulted in desegregated schools in 1954. I was 23 during
the Baltimore race riots in 1968. I am
70 now. Why is this happening now? If anyone had told me in the 60’s that race
relations would still be a problem almost half a century later, I would have told them they
were crazy. Yet, I have seen white prejudice, often veiled but very much with
us today.
I must remember, however, that my 365 project is
about gifts. What gift did today bring? I opened a fortune cookie tonight after
eating at the Szechuan Cafe near my home. My fortune read, “The time is right
to make new friends.” I thought about how at Sowebo Festival (Southwest
Baltimore) a few years ago, I wandered into New Beginnings where a handsome, middle-aged
African American man was standing. The light from the window fell on him in a
way that compelled me to take a photo. After asking him if it was okay, he
smiled and said, “Sure.” This was Troy and I later sent him the photo. Since then
we have been friends. I admire his love of people; I respect his vision, good sense and
taste in art. The time was right then to make a new friend. It is always right. And it is time for our society to create a new beginning.
My
gift today is a valued friendship in the middle of insanity.
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You can find links to my other
posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html
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