This week Cooper jumped on the pick-out-my-own-clothes bandwagon. I knew for a fact we weren't leaving the house that day since all three of us had colds and didn't want to share our germs, so I didn't even ask him to find a different shirt when he handed me all blue clothes. When I asked what he had picked out he said, "My flag shirt and my dolphin pants."
Oh, and winter mittens.
Peter decided to join him and both boys added snow boots to the mix (Peter wearing Bryan's and Cooper wearing Peter's), because nothing says we're enjoying the last month of summer like build imaginary snowmen in the middle of your bedroom. Which is what they did.
4 comments:
I needed to start my day with a laugh. Thanks!
=)
You "grew up around gangs"? Do also tell people that you grew up on mean streets of Southern California and had to fight to survive? While I'm not pretending that there was no gang activity in Oceanside, I never felt in any danger from it because I was never part of that scene and neither were you. So yes, you "grew up around gangs" in the same way that you "grew up around sharks and stingrays" in that you were never, ever put in danger because of them.
Just saying.
Jordan, perhaps you didn't see drug busts going on just off campus. I did. Or riots. We had one of those my freshman year, remember? And I saw that happen too. No, I never ran with that crowd, but I was smart enough to realize that I needed to avoid certain things. And I don't tell people that I grew up on the mean streets of Southern California. But trust me, gangs were much closer than sharks and stingrays.
Yes, I saw drug busts off-campus (I also saw drug dealings happen off-campus), involving kids I recognized from class. You had a riot, but a kid was shot at my school when I was in 8th grade (no, I wasn't there, but my school was closed for the day). Were gangs real? Of course, as they certainly still are. However, the question is, did you have to live your life differently because of all of this? Despite what you think, no, you did not. Did a gang member ever come up to you and threaten you with bodily harm if you didn't pay him and his posse protection money? Were you ever attacked, just because you were in the wrong neighborhood? Were you ever forced into prostitution because the gangs had control over your parents? No. These are real situations that people who really "grow up around gangs" face.
I guess what I'm saying is that writing that you "grew up around gangs" implies something that I don't think you mean. It implies the daily struggle of facing the choice of joining a gang (for protection or prestige or money) or fighting off gangs yourself. I bet that riot was scary, but after it happened things went back to normal. During finals week did you worry about your tests or was that secondary to fearing for you physical safety? That's all I'm saying. It was a concern, but a background one.
By the way, gangs never wear all one color. Bandannas (or "colors" as they are often called) are very important. Beyond that, I could wear a red shirt with blue jeans in a neighborhood known to be territory of the Crips (main rival of the Bloods) and not worry because I don't walk, talk, or act like to be a gang member. Now, I wouldn't ever go to a Crips neighborhood because I'm not stupid, but the point is that colors alone do not make you a target.
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