Making Friends in Unlikely Places

The local coffee costs less than a dollar and tastes better than Starbucks. Oh, and did I mention the baseball Little League? The local Dominican teams cost a fraction of the downtown white ones, and my kid is perfecting his Spanish in the bargain.

The foreclosure crisis has sent a lot of affordable property on the market and people are always asking for advice on navigating what used to be called “slums.” Without a doubt, we got lucky with our particular set-up. Our rougher characters are a tame bunch compared to, say, the drug crew that terrorized a nearby building. Those thugs were so mean that residents were scared to leave their apartments. The brutes harassed women and openly brandished weapons in the halls. In contrast, Salami is a bunny rabbit. During a recent frank discussion about first impressions, he was astounded that I once feared he might stab me. “Whaddya crazy, Mama?” he blinked. He then confided that he first thought I was a stuck-up racist.  “I’ve decided you’re okay, after all,” Salami conceded.

The moral of this tale, I guess, is to keep an open mind and not be scared off by first appearances. Negotiation goes a long way. Most people, when you get down to it, simply want a bit of respect.

©2008 Judith Matloff

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