My experience with Jerry and Coca-Cola .

Jerry and Coca-cola-, two men I met in Veteran's park, downtown Grand Rapids, called me to them one the other day while I was walking by with my bike and they sat on a bench on the warm summer afternoon.

"Heeey, gurl, whyoh'nt'chu com'ohvuh he'yuh" His smile was of curiosity, and joyfulness, but there was a complexity to him and that is was drew my attention and precisely why I walked my bike over to where he and his friend Jerry were seated drinking their drink and wishin they had a smoke.

I had one.

...and after having sat between these two men, for nearly 15 minutes, Jerry says to me, "I got this one quote that comes to mind when I sit here with ya and it took me nearly 2 years to figure out what it meant, but now I get it"
"What's that?" I ask feeling my shoulder and his shoulder touching and causing a warmth to fuse us together.
"It goes something like, 'we got'ta be the change we want in th'world"
"Be the change we want to see in this world" I repeat and we both smile.

I give Jerry the other half of my singular cigarette after he requests it of me. It felt like breaking bread.

Then my new friend Coca-cola says

"Naow, you know you'ain't gohn'remembuh'us" he laughs and I can tell he is fishing for me to tell him more about who I am.

"shiiit, baby!" I say in my jivist jive "you bettuh, rek'coniiize" I get my street gesticulations perfectly aligned with my dialogue and continue with some insane ridiculousness that had us all feeling very human and very accepted, each in our own space. "maaaan, Im'muh be all like, 'yo! thass'mah'boy! YO! COCA-COLA!' and then im'muh come up to you and we'll be all like, 'whaddup'dawg' and we'll do some chest bump thing and of course we'll probably do some smooth as hand shake, and all yer boy's'll be like, 'who dat coca-cola?' and you'll be all 'aaawe, thass'mah gurl Adena"

I recieved a text to go to another destination, an unexpected birthday party, for someone I know little of. I left the boys with my pedal bike, climbed the large Fountain Street hill and when I arrived at my mothes I was scooped on a motorcycle and whisked away to the next experience.

Be the change you seek, stop seeking the change,...you...be.