plant seeds for growth...

one minute I’m walking out of the bar, headed to game one of the Padres – Giants season series finale and the next minute I run into the Black Scale guys on the Lane. Next thing I know I’m grinning and on my way. They instruct me to catch either the 30 or the 45 bus but both of those are way too crowded for me and besides it’s a perfect October night in the city so I proceed to walk dizzily towards the ball park.

on the corner – At the intersection of 3rd St. and Willie Mays Plaza a young Brotha with no more than 12 to 13 years of earthly existence under his belt shouts out as I walk by “sunflower seeds only one dollar, five dollars inside the park!” Sold! I stop dig into my pocket and boom the seeds are mine. His partners next to him with only half his hustle start to harass me, hoping that I’ll buy their peanuts and red vines, not happenin’. I give them both a hard stare that says... naw son, leave me alone. They insist so I verbalize it and confirm with a head shake, no! I shake my guys hand and tell him good lookin’ out, he says to me good lookin’ out but has a confused look on his face and probably thought, why did this old (in his eyes) playa thank me?!

Seeds in hand I make my way halfway across the street and get stopped by what seemed like a very short crossing signal???

“Alright, I’m goin’ ” Short light, yes. Intentional, I believe so. My God slapped me in the back of the head to remind me that I had some work to do. I turn around and head back towards the young business man and his slacking comrades. The three of them spot me coming, the slackers have a look like yeah B*tch, I knew you would be back for these red vines and nuts for your mouth. Wrong dummies! If it had been a wear two belts today Friday I might have taken one off and given those two a whoopin'!

PS: Yo man, do you know why I said good lookin’ out?
YB: ummmm yeah, wait - no.

Attn: for you slower readers and you know who you are, YB stands for Young Brotha.
Forgive me I shouldn’t say slower readers; I should say those not as literally inclined. But otherwise you, the same dude that was always slowin’ down the flow when we had to read out loud in elementary.
Now get it together and lets get Back to the movie…

PS: I said good lookin' out and then you said good lookin’ out and that’s not it.
YB: (confused)
PS: Let me explain to you
YB: OK (with a perplexed look on his face)
PS: When I was walking by you yelled out “sunflower seeds ONLY $1 dollar” and how much did you tell me they were inside.
YB: Five dollars
PS: Exactly, I said to you after I bought them, “good lookin’ out” because you did two things. You gave me information that #1. saved me money and #2. saved me from waiting in a long ass line inside the stadium

I have his attention and anticipate the smile that is inevitable once we’re finished. Now my goal is to get him to change his energy which I feel will change his approach towards the hustle and have a positive impact on his overall success.

PS: Let me explain to you brotha, you are saving people time and money. We live in a country that lives off the claim that time is money. You are saving people both. By telling me your prices versus the prices inside you saved me four dollars. Because you are accessible on this street corner you saved me time, those lines inside can take forever
YB: ohhhh (smiling from ear to ear)
PS: You are providing a great service and should be proud of what you are doing
YB: Thank you (now unsure if it is ok to be thanking me)
PS: (Laughing) I do have a favor though, when you’re my age I don’t want to see you out here hustlin’ seeds or tickets (pointing at ticket scalpers a few yards away) Instead of selling seeds and tickets you should know that you have the ability and obviously the work ethic to own the business (pointing to stadium) that they are scalping tickets for!

YB: (huge grin) Yeah!

We shake hands again and again I say…

PS: so good lookin’ out!
YB: Fa sho

I felt like giving the YB a hug or something but I saw the slackers watching and ear hustling and that “soft” gesture might have gotten me robbed, LOL! I thought to myself, self maybe you should have invited them over to listen and learn. Naw, he can share the information with them and they can learn to follow his lead, making for one chief and two Indians!!!

The End,
PS1