Brothers and Sisters...TIME OUT!!!

The other day, as I was making my deliveries on my route in SW Washington DC , a brother stopped me. He asked me, "Was FedEx hiring ?" Now I'm saying to myself, "Here is a seemingly good brother, trying to get himself a job and make an honest living". So I proceeded to tell him that I believed we were hiring new people, and it would be in his best interest to go ahead and put in his application early, heightening his chances of landing a job. The next words out of his mouth, really made me want to ask myself.....WHY???
He told me, "I needs at least a week to drink that cranberry juice and clean that WEED out of my sytem!" Now, mind you, he was asking me this while holding a beer in a brown paper bag, and pushing his son around in a stroller!!! He and I have made small talk before, always about either how well the Wizards were doing or how bad the 'Skins were looking. Each time we held our informal session of The Sports Reporters, his sidekick, Bud Weiser, was always there to chime in on the day's topics. Now I'm not one to condemn any man for getting his occasional " buzz on",( I have been know to tip back a few brewskis here and there myself), but there is a time and place for everything.
We all remember the Evan's family on Good Times, having to step over Ned the Whino lying in the gutter, while they made their way up to their apartment. One episode, Michael brought Ned home,to Florida's dismay, making a vow to "Help the brother out"! Unfortuanetly, it was the same day that the judging commitee was coming over to vote on the appearance of their apartment for a Home Magazine prize! With both James and JJ's help, Michael was able to get ole' Ned cleaned up beyond recognition. Why can't things be this easy in "The Hood"? When are we going to learn that you can't just go through life thinking that "drinking that cranberry juice" is going to solve your problems and help you get over.
It seems to me that some of us(black folk) are always looking for the easy way out. I am so tired of seeing able bodied young folk, hanging out on the corner in the middle of the day, not working. This enevitably leads to nothing positive for these young folks. Maybe it's just me, maybe I expect too much from our youth. How selfish of me for wanting these young folk to take the initiative to go and get a REAL JOB!! Oh Yeah, I'm the bad guy for wanting folks to get ahead in life and go about it the right way, setting an example for their kids. Go ahead, shoot me for just being the messenger. Yes, I'm sick of brothers and sisters just plain not getting it done!!
It's ok black folk, if you happen to occasionally come across the infamous "hook up". Just use it to better both your life and the lives of your family members. We already have a tough enough time as it is. What's the point in making it tougher than it has to be! It's gut check time black people, this ain't for the faint of heart!!! Get out the mirrors y'all,let's look hard and long. Are you really happy with what you see?? Remember how Ned cleaned up pretty well, and in the end, his old lady was just too happy to take him back home!! You can tidy up your life also, turn it around and get back in the damn game. Stop making black folks look so bad!! Do the Damn thing!!
Out...