Interesting Weekend

Hello, Blogworld!

Have any of you heard of Arenda Troutman? She was recently booted out of her position as an Alderman over a ward on the South Side of Chicago after being suspected of taking bribes...

Of course it's no secret that the Illinois political arena has been the home of much corruption as of late; why is this woman so special that I had to feature her in my Sunday evening blog post... So what?

Well, the what that I'm interested in is this Alderman's sexual/romantic relationship with a local druglord, who openly admits to governing the sale of cocaine, heroine, marijuana, etc, and to being responsible for a lot of violent crime and gang activity...

Why does this interest me?

I believe that you are supposed to align yourself with people who have the same type of goals as you. This woman worked her way up to a position that made her a potentially influential leader in the Black community, but she continued to associate with a man who made a living by doing things that are completely detrimental to the same community. There's a huge conflict of interests in a relationship like that and this may be why she got caught up in drama and lost her job.

So, why is this Alderman's story relevant to my life?

I noticed that I hadn't seen Dude around since we graduated last May. (I only thought this a little strange, as we both live off the same big street but its just about 30 blocks away on the otehr side of town, which I never really frequent) Every Sunday though, I take the bus into his neighborhood to go to church, and, not that I've been looking for him, but I haven't seen or heard anything about him... Not that I was thirsty for info. (I'm kinda okay that he disappeared from the face of the Earth)... I'm just sayin.

Saturday afternoon phone conversation with a friend.

I called her to share some good news (which I'll happily blog about after everything is finalized tomorrow night). After I share, she asks me what I'm doing that night...

Me: Bout to go to the mall with {The Ex-Bff}... (I'll blog about that later as well). You?

Her: This boy we went to high school with is having a party at his apt. But I'm also thinking about going Bowling... It's supposed to be a lot of people up there from {The Alma Mater}

Me: Oh, really? Why?

Her: It's {Dude}'s coming home party.

Me: Coming home party? Where he been, Iraq?

Her: Okay... So this is supposed to be a secret, so don't tell NOBODY. I just found out but I thought, wait 'til I tell Experience. Cuz I know you gon' laugh

Me: Okay...

Her: Girl he been in jail since right after we graduated! He just got home 2 days ago!!

I'm sorry, but when I heard this I CRACKED UP. God has blessed me so much, to find a great job in my field, and to have a great future. Not saying that Dude doesn't have a great future but, jail is the LAST place I would ever be after graduating from a University... Something like this is a direct conflict to the things I want to do with my life. Activities which could, even in the most remote way, ever land me in jail are a direct hindrance to my career as an attorney! And I'm not doing any activities that could stand in the way of my destiny!

My pastor always says that Eagles don't fly with pidgeons... The places where one typically finds Eagles, pidgeons don't even exist, because they're not equipped to get there.... Eagles are just created to be magnificent birds, and to live magnificent lives soaring above most of the other creatures in the world.

When my friend first told me the news about Dude, I laughed, and I made jokes about his "down @$$ b!tch" having to put money on the books so he could trade for Sprites and chips...

It was just funny to me, b/c there was a time in my life when I wanted to prove that I would be the down chick... I was attracted to his street mentality. Before him, I dated a guy who was a prominent dope boy in my neighborhood. I knew that Dude robbed people and sold drugs. I was there when he did transactions. I knew that he was a typical street nigga, though I didn't understand why he felt the need to carry this life into college, a place where I feel he should have been trying to get an education and leaving all that mess behind. The need to show off by buying all these flashy expensive things, the need to appear tough, the false bravado that men portray and the attraction to the materialistic things that attract simple-minded women motivated his love of money to the point where, I guess, he resorted to street life to keep it up. 3 years ago I would have waited patiently for him to get out of jail. I would have focused my life around waiting to see him again...

Then I realized something...

Now, there's no way you could get me to wait for some fool in jail!

Hell, I'm not feelin this one dude who's trying 2 be in my face b/c he owes thousands of dollars in tickets and as a result, has had his license revoked. Seriously? Thousands of dollars in tickets are preventing him from being able to drive, something NECESSARY because he doesn't even live in the city, where you can get anywhere on public transportation, but out in the suburbs, 30 minutes away. Yet, he has a full-time job? I think that's so irresponsible. It's one thing to mess up your credit, b/c theorhetically, you don't use or see that everyday. But I've lived without a car forever, and I know it's much worse for men to not have one... He couldn't even take me out on a date if he wanted!

Anyway, back to the purpose of this post...

After laughing a little a huge WAVE of relief washed over me... Over the past couple of weeks, I had my bad moments where I thought about Dude, not because I wanted him, but just because I was hurt that the situation ended with me being hurt... I realized that I'm not quite to the point where I can wish him 100% the best... Hell, I was kinda happy that he had been punished... You truly reap what you sow, and I believe this little incarceration situation is only the beginning...

However, the news my friend told me made me soon begin praising God... God took dude out of my life for a reason. He know where I'm headed, and He knew that Dude's life of crime and money-chasing was just not for me... It doesn't fit with what I'm trying to do. It's a total conflict of interests, and I'd be totally irresponsible, let alone, I'd look like a fool if I associated with anyone who lives such a lifestyle...

Things that make you go "hmmmmm" on a Saturday afternoon....