Being Nineteen

This has been a really controversial and trying year. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the present and the past. The Michael Brown incident occurred almost right after the verdict of the 19 year old who was shot in Detroit area (Dearborn) was decided. It reminded me about when I was 19. The first car that I bought broke down in Oak Park in a neighborhood that was filled with Senior Citizens. I remember sitting in my car in the afternoon, most people didn't have cell phones back then, and I had to get out of my car and knock on doors, so that I could call AAA. I was not very successful, and finally an older man answered his door, and I explained that my car had broken down and I needed to call AAA. He offered to let me use his cordless phone on his porch. And, he stood behind the screen looking around, a l little scared. I called AAA, and he told me that I could wait on his porch in the shade. I sat on the porch and waited. A few minutes later, he told me that a woman had been there a few days ago and she claimed that her car had broken down, and when his wife let her in the house, there were two men right behind her, and they attacked and robbed his wife in broad daylight. She was still in the hospital. I remember that as 19, I looked shocked. You just don't think about these things until they occur. He was not going to answer the door, but he noticed that no one was going to let me in. They were all afraid, and who could blame them. We sat and drank lemonade until the Tow Truck came. I thanked him and I wished him and his wife well. I don't have any lessons learned or great statements to make; I just wanted to share my story.