This

This is by far the most under-the-influence I've ever been while blogging.

The evening started downtown, on Olvera Street (a cultural location more than a geographic location). Erin and I had just finished day 1 of a proposal writing workshop and were thirsty for a beer.

Olvera Street proved unfriendly and we drove down to 5th and Flower for a couple $2.50 beers and cheap appetizers. In LA, that's a pretty sweet deal; and we met Ben P as well as Andy (Erin's man) at Weiland Brewery.

After a cheese quesadilla, some wings, egg rolls, onion rings, fries, and another cheese quesadilla, and oh yeah some beer, we decide its time to leave and the parties separate.

Ben and I head for the Metro red line to get to Sunset and Vermont... Lauren (a friend of my childhood comrade, Emily, of Flat Shoals Road and GW) is hosting a house-warming party while some of her friends are in town to perform at El Cid.

Long story short, Ben and I get to a cool little house where Lauren, Brian, another Lauren, Richie (huge white-boy dreads and a funky beard) are hanging out talking about ending stress by ending work.

I guess that's not a long story short, but its a story nonetheless.

But our night is not over. Not only do we board the wrong bus on Vermont, we miss a 204 bus and sit waiting for 30 minutes. Then, we get to the real destination... a Ghettobird/Hellion Chick-on-Chick party, where a couple of the men's team players are dressed in women's clothing, a fight nearly erupts, some dancing (and people trapping) occurs, and general good-time-having continues.

Before I leave, I'm re-thinking the whole walk-with-my-laptop-in-my-backpack idea. And I tell Parrell that I should be fine, convincing myself of course easily. On my way out the door, sixteen out of the seventeen people on the deck are convinced (and do their best to show their astonishment that I'm not convinced) that I will indeed be mugged on my way home between north SC campus and Broadway/41st.

Halfway down the block, I realize that moment... keep in mind I live in a neighborhood seven blocks from USC but its nowhere these students have ever been to... and think what the university system is actually teaching about local communities except that anything south of campus is off-limits... how can the brightest among us have such closed minds about our world, our community, our people?!

Halfway down the block, I think that I missed a teachable moment on how we ought to keep our minds open about 'the Other.' The Other neighborhood, the Other side of the highway, the Other economic and social classes... and so on.

Will that lesson come?

Now, 30 minutes later, I'm sitting at my computer. I feel safe, but I'm still trying to break down the boundaries (intellectual, emotional, geographical, etc) between myself and Others... to recognize that safety only comes when there is peace and there is no righteous peace without justice!

:)