True Story
It's at least as true as A Million Little Pieces.
I live in a neighborhood that the talking heads would describe as "diverse" with sizeable populations of both whites and blacks, a sizeable gay and lesbian community, and several distinct immigrant groups including Spanish speakers, Muslims (Arabic and African), Bosnians, and Romanians. The 7/11 by my house is very much a place where cultures collide--it's owned (or at least was owned in 1999) by Iranians who employ several North Africans of various nationalities and is patronized by old-school South City Hoosiers, blacks, Spanish-speaking Hispanics, Bosnians, and many others whose countries of origin cannot easily be determined. The other day, I stopped by on my way home from work, so I was still wearing a suit and tie. Someone came in to the 7/11 asking for directions to the zoo. Although the zoo wasn't terribly far (maybe 5 miles or so away), I have no idea how someone looking for the zoo would have found the 7/11 because it's not near a highway or major arterial road that a tourist would use to get to the zoo. Two 20ish guys were trying to give her directions and, by their own admission, the directions weren't very clear (e.g., "I don't know the name of the street, but there's a big house near it" or "make a left at my cousin Ray Ray's place"). After a couple of minutes of this, one guy said "Yo, jus' ass' the white man," obviously meaning me. The other guy said "Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. Hey, white man. White man, er I mean, uh sir," with a slightly apologetic tone at the end. Knowing that he meant me [and not being offended in the least by being referred to as "white man"], I walked up and gave her the directions, though my directions ended with "follow the signs once you're in the park." After the woman left, the 2 other guys who gave her directions, the counterman, and I all talked about her and how in the world she could have wound up in there while trying to find the zoo. The guy who referred to me as "white man" apologized for doing so, and I told him "Hey, don't worry about it, black guy." We all laughed, and I left. A couple of days later, I was eating at the bar across the street when I heard "Hey, white man. White man." I realized it was the dude from the 7/11, so I said "Heeyy, black guy!" We had a beer and laughed at the woman again.
I live in a neighborhood that the talking heads would describe as "diverse" with sizeable populations of both whites and blacks, a sizeable gay and lesbian community, and several distinct immigrant groups including Spanish speakers, Muslims (Arabic and African), Bosnians, and Romanians. The 7/11 by my house is very much a place where cultures collide--it's owned (or at least was owned in 1999) by Iranians who employ several North Africans of various nationalities and is patronized by old-school South City Hoosiers, blacks, Spanish-speaking Hispanics, Bosnians, and many others whose countries of origin cannot easily be determined. The other day, I stopped by on my way home from work, so I was still wearing a suit and tie. Someone came in to the 7/11 asking for directions to the zoo. Although the zoo wasn't terribly far (maybe 5 miles or so away), I have no idea how someone looking for the zoo would have found the 7/11 because it's not near a highway or major arterial road that a tourist would use to get to the zoo. Two 20ish guys were trying to give her directions and, by their own admission, the directions weren't very clear (e.g., "I don't know the name of the street, but there's a big house near it" or "make a left at my cousin Ray Ray's place"). After a couple of minutes of this, one guy said "Yo, jus' ass' the white man," obviously meaning me. The other guy said "Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. Hey, white man. White man, er I mean, uh sir," with a slightly apologetic tone at the end. Knowing that he meant me [and not being offended in the least by being referred to as "white man"], I walked up and gave her the directions, though my directions ended with "follow the signs once you're in the park." After the woman left, the 2 other guys who gave her directions, the counterman, and I all talked about her and how in the world she could have wound up in there while trying to find the zoo. The guy who referred to me as "white man" apologized for doing so, and I told him "Hey, don't worry about it, black guy." We all laughed, and I left. A couple of days later, I was eating at the bar across the street when I heard "Hey, white man. White man." I realized it was the dude from the 7/11, so I said "Heeyy, black guy!" We had a beer and laughed at the woman again.
posted by Not Jennifer Gibbs at 1/14/2006
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