I was was at a bar-b-que in Bedford Stuyvesant during the memorial day weekend. It’s a beautiful Neighborhood with hundred year old town houses. When you walk down the streets you can imagine horse and buggies moving about. I had a wonderful time and before I knew it it was late and it was time for me to go home. But as I was about to hit the subway I was told that “A” subway line had been shut down after midnight do to track work. So I was invited to crash. I was also told that it’s not good to walk in the neighborhood at night. Bed Stuy is the ghetto deep in Brooklyn.

That night Stella (who also was crashing there) and I decided to have a smoke out on the stoop. It was late but there were a couple of people across the street also were hanging out on the their stoop. As we were puffing away we hear, “po po po pow!” Gun shots from the rooftops. Stella says to me, “I think we should go inside!” I reply, “Don’t worry about it… it’s just some kids gun clapping on the rooftops.” After all it’s the hood and I’ve heard that in my neighborhood before the gentrification. Stella said, “I don’t know Caroline told me that it gets kind of crazy around here and there was someone shot just the other day.” I said,”well I’d like to finish my cigar and it’s not on the street. It’s on the roof top.” Then again,”po po po po pow!” from another rooftop in a slightly different direction. Stella was at the door standing at this point, “I’m going inside! I’m not staying out here! Come inside” I replied, “I think I’m going sit and finish my cigar.” “POW!” again. “Dylan come inside! look the people across the street are going inside and they’ve lived here all their lives!” I looked across and sure enough the were evacuating their spot. I decided to take Stella up on her suggestion. I went inside.

I thought to my self, “Damb, Iraq must be like this minus the car bombs…. maybe as Americans, we should be dealing with our war here”