I CAN REMEMBER THERE WAS A DAY WHEN

I would roll down the street in my black AMG 500SL (yeah still had the window sticker in the glove box $99,800.00) down on the eastside on Martin Luther King going to get some soul food for lunch. Cool as could be, top down, haters frowning, the gals all smilin' and you know me I was smilin' back at them all. I creep through the hood in search for a fat ass chicken fried steak hittin' up my boy Goober up to come relive the fond memories of our eastside's past with me over lunch. Of course Goob is somewhere on the west coast at his other office pimpin hard. My nigga is in Fortune magazine now making sick loot............so am I. "What up Goober? Meet me at HandJ's asshole for a chicken fried and a strawberry soda." Like back in the gap when I was at Nolan he was at Country Day then we both ended up at Eastern Hills together. Hell I hit the block and its on in the hood, baby its all good. The Bloods and the Crips showin love as I roll their theirs- hittin me up with gang signs not because I was white and in a Benz but because I was me. I was on that purple oil swervin through, because they all knew I had all the syrup. I had formed some formidable relationships with black gang bangers of every origin and it was cool when I pulled through the hood it made me feel like a king. Now you tell me what badass ole peckerwood would roll through the ghetto in a badass Benz with 20 grand in both pockets and a S&W .44 with a 4 inch barrel always nearby no doubt? I did. Its funny I came out of court a few weeks ago and stopped to get gas at the Chevron downtown by the Sonic and Im in the last of my Hugo Boss suits looking rather white in the Lexus. I get out go in an pay my last 5 bucks for gas. As Im at the pump a red Skyline with a bunch on essays pulls up rather quickly and a couple dudes get out and they are staring me down like they want some shit. I tell one of them, " Que honda homeboy?" "Me lo conoces homito?" I think that means what's up homeboy, do yo know me little homie? I was getting ready to either jump in the car and burn rubber on these putos or get my only suit tore up boxing these guys, but the younger one looked at me and I saw a MS13 tat on his arm and said while raising his arm pointing underneath    La Cosa Nostra? You have este tattoo aqui? Claro essay!! I suddenly recognized this guy, I had done time with him years back. He said in broken English, "You still got it going on huh? " I said man I dont do that shit anymore bro, I had to chill out para mi nueva bambina. He said,  "OOOOOOOHHHHH, orale homeboy!" Thats badass bro. You should come through our hood right here and eat some tacos sometime. Come holloer at us on this street right here. I said."Cool man Id love to sometime but have to go bro!: He said later man and so did I. What a friggin trip man? I see this kid who recognizes me from my tattoo from years ago. I feet really out of place and like a whiteboy in the hood this time because Im not who I used to be, Im not that guy and its really hard to even associate myself with being a street savy gangster type that feels good in the hood these days. It just isnt the case. Im not scared by any means, it's just that my life has moved on from all that and I guess either I have grown up or Im getting old. Maybe both. There was a day when I held alot of status and power in that same hood, but its crazy how drastically things change. My poor mother would faint seeing her son rolling through the hood like Frank White in King of New York but I try to spare her any details of my past like that. Haha. Damn man dont think you still won't hear some old Ice Cube turned up in my car these days. It brings back alot of memories; good and bad. In reality my mind fools me into thinking there may have been some good ones and maybe so but all in all it was really fucking pretty damn stupid. Having love and respect is something that not every middle class white man gets to experience in very dangerous neighborhoods. Ride with me now? Thank God all that doesnt mean anything to me anymore. Im just happy being humble getting ready to see my little girl tomorrow.