Dedicated To My Friend

R.I.P. Damon Johnson

I lost a very close friend of mine Tuesday morning. He was struck by a car, attempting to cross the street. Said street is always full of a bunch of idiot drivers who are either A) drunk, B) haphazard or C) incompetent, like 85% of the rest of the world. But, for whatever reason, it was his time to die.

God bless his family. I will miss him, as much as a man can miss another man without needing a "no homo" at the end of the sentence. When you're a kid, friends come & go, but as an adult, when you consider someone a friend (as opposed to homie, buddy, potna, etc.), it really means something significant, well at least to me. & to lose that friend, is something that has to be dealt with on an adult level, i.e. realistically.

Death is an amazing thing, in that, you can compulsively prepare for it, do all you can to avoid it, yet do nothing at all to prevent it. That, to me, is uncomfortably hilarious. Case in point; Damon survived several gunshot wounds a few years back. Btw, several = four or more. Yet, he got through it, physically & mentally. He's been to the penitentiary a couple of times, & although he came home with the same state of mind he had after the shooting (shell-shocked), he got through it. Simultaneously the coolest & toughest person I'd met since I've become an adult. But, for all the tests God presented & Damon passed, this was a pop quiz without a cheat sheet.

The doctors tried to save him, but that wasn't in the cards. Within the hour of his
passing, the whole neighborhood was outside, walking around, hugging, dapping, smoking weed in memoriam, & drinking alcohol as they sat in awe. There's even a makeshift tribute to him on the corner that the ambulance took him from. I wonder did he realize that this would be his last time ever leaving the hood?

Sooner than later, we'll have his funeral, & all of us will have a chance to tell him "Peace Out" for the final time. After that, we'll come home, laugh at his silly antics, regret any arguments & disagreements, part ways & continue to live our lives, until the next time death rears it's insidious head.

The last time I saw him was Saturday morning. He was flirting with a bus driver. Kool-aid smile & all. The last time my friend Tone saw him was as he tried to stand back up after the vehicle knocked him down. Then, the paramedics arrived.

Y'all be cool & careful out there. Tomorrow isn't promised, & don't forget that.