The American Dream
On my way to work today I overheard a conversation from a woman who was visiting her friend in jail. She was a short, skinny, had dark brown skin, was well dressed with a frilly tight fitting short sleeve dress shirt. She said she had 2 kids, a girl of 4 months old, a boy of a single digit age above 5 that I don’t seem to remember anymore.
She started off talking about her friend in jail. How he had to pay for everying in there, toothbrush $1, stamp .45, envelop $1, to mail the envelop $1 . She sent him money every once in a while to get the stuff. I wondered why he was in there and how long he was staying but I must have missed that part of the conversation. She visted him every once in a while but he said that she should visit more. She told the man on the train, “Why should I visit him more? I am doing enough already. I bet you if I was in jail he would never visit me or give me any money.” with a tone of slight indignation. She moved on to her kids saying how he should be grateful just for the money because she had kids too. Apparently she was divorced. She said how his dad had spoiled him with expensive toys, PS3, Nintendo DS, Tons of games to go with both. All his mom got him was a PSP. He was obviously playing them off each other. He pushed a little too hard one day.
He was at a toystore with his mom, “You are gonna buy me a nice present, because dad buys me nice presents. If you don’t buy me a nice present I am going to tell dad that you waste money on cheap junk.”
His mom was not surprised by what he said. I guess she has had a few problems with him before. “I ain’t gonna buy you a nice present I am going to get you a cheap present and if you don’t want that I am getting you nothing.” she said. He throws a fit and calls dad when he gets home.
“Mom wasted money on cheap junk today. She should get me nice presents like you give me.” He whined to his father.
“Well your mom is not me and you will get a cheap present.”
The boy hangs up and says to his mom, “Your gonna get it, watch you’ll see.”
At this point its the end of the train line. I volunteered in a afterschool/summer daycare center center for 2 years so I have seen these kind of kids before. In the beginning they are a handful, some of them we straighten out but some are just hellish all the way through the program. The kids that I worked with all loved rap, and all I can think about now is kanye west or Jay-Z rhyming about getting and living the American Dream, the money, the cars, the women, the fame. These kids think its what life is about, getting stuff. The mom knew it wasn’t the point but that is all the kid thinks about. I wonder how the mom is going to deal with it, I wonder how the kid is going to grow up, I wonder if her friend in jail will get out ok.
I leave the train joining the rest of the horde of the morning rush hour and think what is my american dream.
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