this weekend's essay: thank you for being a friend.

sum, saf, nahmix

golden girls is my all-time favorite tv show for more than just life according to sophia patrillo, the fact that i see myself in dorothy, blanche's sexual freedom, or rose's pleasant naivete; it's more than their timeless humor, or the fact that it's the greatest. sitcom. of. all. time. and. eternity. plus. forever. and. a day. i also love gg because of the kind of friendship you get to witness on the tv screen.

my love for the show, along with saf's recent repatriation to the mistake on the lake (sum-n-saf half will return once she gets settled) got me thinking about the real life homies i've met while living in the chi. i don't make friends easily. often, i don't make friends at all. but, i've been fortunate enough to meet some cool folks while getting grown in the city of wind.

it took me over a year to get used to life on my own. i graduated, left indiana, came to the chi, got my own place, and started grad skool simultaneously. what can i say? i like my trauma all at the same time. my homegyrl candace really helped me out. we met when we were sixteen; we were roommates during a summer program for allegedly gifted black kids. we fell in and out of touch as we finished high skool and moved on to college (purdon't [me] and spelman [her]), and by the time i moved, she had already returned to chicago. she helped me find my first place--which was literally around the corner from her, and invited me to her fam's sunday dinner every week. from late nights watching and trying to get on qvc (we're both insomniacs) to introducing me to home run inn (the greatest pizza ever), candace will always be a dear old pal, and one of my closest friends. i mean really, only one other person has been dealing with my crazy ass and my various incarnations (yo, candace remembers me skinnier, with a relaxer, and, uh, totally straight) longer.

as i contemplated dropping out of skool and moving into my parents' basement, my fellow skoolmate rrrrachel helped a homegyrl stay sane. she's the best ever. during our first year we'd watch chappelle's show and talk about how both of us didn't really belong in our program. during our car pools to and from skool we had long talks about whatever, discovering that we had more than a love of literature--and erykah badu and andre 3000 and certain profs in the department-- in common. fortunately, we're both still here. and we've decided that it's not because we aren't smart enough that we're such outsiders in our department, but that we're too smart to be fucked with. (whatever. it works for us.)

by third year i met that black beyotch, saf, and nahmix. we first hung out at a lauryn hill concert, and have seen the mighty mos, the savior jean grae, the roots (how many times now, nahmix?), and a ton of other concerts and plays. if saf is my creative homie and shit talking partner, nahmix is my moral center (you know, like in a novel). saf and i have a tendency to hype each other up, talking about how live each other is. on some, "yeah, nigga, we should do that shit." but nahmix will chime in and be like, "um, ladies, isn't that illegal?" anyway, saf is like one of my favorite writers, and i really think she's got one of the sharpest minds (and tongues) i've ever had the opportunity to come across. chloe morrison is also our favorite scribe (no, not faulkner, nigga. more on that next week.) . i've said this before, but nahmix is mad focused and disciplined, which i have a lot of respect for, as i possess neither of these things; she's also just really cool. and, she hooks me up with free shit (like gospel brunch at the hob), and invites me to things even though she knows i act like an uncouth hoodlum at all times. gotta love someone who will let you come as you are, right?

i'd definitely be remiss if i ain't give no love to my homegyrl, deshi. though we spend most of the time we hang out under the influence, i'm sure that even sober she's pretty top notch. i mean, damn, she did hook me up with a free ticket to cali. (oh gosh i miss the bay.)

anyway, i just wanted to give some love to the friends i've met in the chi. feel free to give your friends a shout.

be easy,
sm.

ps: i'm really sorry i've been writing long posts lately. i'll try and do better.