Music from the Street

Mary's friend Kate and her husband Kim had been visiting from Ann Arbor but then headed out to see other friends in Atlanta a little earlier. As I was settling in at my desk, I heard music from the street. It was this friendly Black guy about whom I wrote last year in this post. 

Now, there may be those amongst you who are thinking -- why do we need to call out his race? Is it really important? And in some sense you're right, but in another, you're wrong. We don't get that many Black people walking in the neighborhood, and certainly not that many who are lower wealth ones, as he clearly is. So it's great that he feels safe and welcome walking in the nabe. Also, it should be noted that he is most often listening to classic rock, often by big haired bands such as Journey. Not bands that are high on my playlist, but also not ones one expects to be in heavy rotation in the Black community. So the guy is showing us something different and diverse and opening our minds up. Thankfully, the wattage at which he plays his tunes is not that high, because mediocre hair metal is only so funny, no matter who is blasting it.

Sadly, I'm almost never in my yard when I see him go past. I've chatted with him once or twice when passing on my bike or when running, but we've still never had a good conversation.