Ugly Stuff

It's getting ugly out here. Or maybe I'm just learning too much for my own good.

Jay-Z's auntie told me Joey and one of his pals disrespected her. Apparently she told Joey to stop doing something, and he told her she should perform acts on them that no 11-year-old should be talking about. Auntie was understandably furious, but her solution left me speechless. She hired another boy from our block to beat up Joey and teach him a lesson.

I haven't talked to Joey about this yet. I don't know if I will or not. We haven't been talking much. Auntie suggested he has been out tagging garages. I took a walk down the alley tonight after work and spotted a garage with what I believe is his signature.

I have been thinking about talking to his mother about putting him in Casa Tepeyac/Boys & Girls Town for the first month of his new school. It would certainly help him get more homework done than he would if he stays home, I think. Given these new pieces of info, maybe it is time to get him out of here. This won't be the easiest conversation to have, though.

The other ugly is I'm starting to get to know more of the "who's in charge here" down and dirty. When you have three strong black women with different ideas about how to get business done, that is not an easy thing to negotiate.

Tonight, with the gorgeous, comfortable weather, there were an awful lot of people out on the street. They were not people who live on any of these blocks. This is making me a bit more nervous about the question of security with this block party. A cop friend of mine suggested writing a letter to the commander asking for some police presence (at the end of the party, especially) and taking it to the district advisory meeting. I'll do that.