Lifestyles of the poor and nameless

I've been at work for about 3 weeks now. I try to take at least one walk through the neighborhood each day to keep my legs active, and check out the deals at Rite-Aid. Each day reveals something new and different, and possibly a little scarier than the day before. Mr. Rogers would never have picked Trenton to do "who are the people in your neighborhood?" but I will tell you about the people (and events/happenings) of my neighborhood.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts a few blocks up from my job. Once/week I go there and buy TWO "munchkins"/Donut holes. I figure that munchkins will do less damage than full fledged donuts and they're cheaper, so I will limit myself to 2 as I walk through the area. There's a nice guy in there who gives them to me for free.

There is no Starbucks in my neighborhood. I think they need one....but maybe Starbucks is a bougie NYC concept and people out here aren't that into coffee.
There is a Planned Parenthood on my block. It looks kinda shabby from the outside. That's all I can say about it.

There is a constant supply of ghetto folks within 2 blocks from my office...apparently they come from or are affiliated with the local community college in that area. I think there's a problem with dentistry in the area, because people have such horrible teeth (if they have teeth at all). I guess the whitening obsession in NYC is an outgrowth of the fact that alot of modeling/finance/industries where looks matter---are housed in NYC. Apparently, Trenton hasn't gotten the memo.

Today as I walked up the block, a man tried to sell me some gold jewelry that he had in his coat. That's something you see in the movies, or on the streets of Manhattan at night. Who tries to sell bootleg/stolen jewelry 3 blocks away from the courthouse and state buildings, 2 blocks away from City Hall....in broad daylight?! Gangsta.

A "homeless" guy always stands at the corner of S.Broad Street asking for money. He is a decent-looking Black guy in seemingly good shape. He doesn't smell at all. Maybe I've been spoiled by the homeless people in NYC--- in NYC, the homeless people who beg on the trains really DO seem homeless. They smell, they're dirty, they have visible infirmities, they have a multitude of bags--- sometimes all of the above. When I worked at a soup kitchen, I saw people in terrible condition who were still hustling. This guy looks like he's on lunch break from a job trying to collect change. Maybe next time I'll ask him if he wants help finding a job.

The men and women. The men are really men...and some of the women are too. :-O. What I mean is: the guys seem real tough and the women do too. I was walking behind 2 girls today (probably early 20s) and but for their tight jeans and semi-high voices, you wouldn't know they were women. "Yeah son, I'd f--- that b---- up. How she gonna be out here with these nig--- trying to talk sh--..." Don't get me wrong....there's plenty of that in NYC too...but #1- alot of it is just talk. #2- there's still some semblance of womanhood in the people who say it and #3- (unless I'm too far removed from 'hood') that kind of thing is the rule and not the exception. Case in point: I passed by a group of guys today on my way back to the office. I was wearing pants (from a pant suit), a sweater, shoes and a wool pea coat. As I passed by, one guy said to another "...she must be one of those city girls. She's too pretty to be from around here. Son, not even jeans. Pants." Wow....they must be deprived. I'm so regular in NYC it's not even funny. Too bad they all looked like hardened criminals.

I guess that's all for today's neighborhood tour. Tune in next time for when I discuss my first church experience at a Catholic church in PA.