The other day I was walking in the Rat King's Jungle ... that's what I like to call Harlem ... when out of nowhere I was bum-rushed by a rancid-smelling yet charming homeless man who reminded me of an agile and slightly irritated adult Panda Bear.
He was asking for change and then called me a snowflake, which at first I found adorable until I realized it was a racial slur.
I couldn't help but wonder... what had happened to this man? There was definitely a story behind those coked-out eyes and I wanted to be educated. He was reluctant when I asked him to join me for a decaf soy latte that afternoon, probably because he didn't know what a "latte" was, or that it was afternoon-time. But we literally chatted for Minutes! He enjoyed literature and spoke freely about how we will all die shortly after the winter solstice of 2012. But I wasn't scared. Something about this racist and smelly man comforted me... but what???
I put on my gloves before giving him a handshake goodbye when his foul breath whispered in my ear, "Dare to Dream." As I turned to address this final farewell between fiends, he was gone. He had vanished into the smokey pollution rising from a sewer cap. "Dare to Dream" is a quote I live by... how but did this man know??
The experience taught me a great deal and I will have it in my memory bank for the rest of my days. I had thought for a while that maybe God had arranged our encounter. His final message to me, "Dare to dream," played on repeat in my head; giving me a crutch to lean on whilst walking these mean city streetz... until I find a cab to take me to my destination.
It took me 3 weeks to realize that the message strewn across my tote bag that day in large letters and a bold font was, "Dare to dream," and this man was no doubt just reading that back to me ... but I often think about that man. And I wonder if he's daring to dream.
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