A. Brown Girl’s "Swagger" in M.I.A.: A 24 Hour Trip

I sure thought I’d be missing in action the moment I stepped off the plane. Miami has been one of the most talked about vacation spots among my peers---male and female. In 2002, I had a discussion with co-workers about my lack of experience with “Girl Trips,” and they cautioned me to have one before I got married. (Bruhs Joe and Regg).

Here I am, four years later celebrating Girl Trip ’06…the third since 2004. Regardless if I’m married or not, it’s necessary---a rejuvenation if you will. Now that you’ve read my soliloquies, let me get to the nitty gritty…and the bottom of my feet are quite gritty from the sand.

(Miami, Florida – June 29, 2006) The forecast called for rain throughout the country. Homes were flooded in D.C. while I packed for a twenty-four hour layover in Miami, Florida in route to a cruise to the Bahamas. My linesister, Tamu, are escaping from 9 months of labor...in the education industry. We made plans with intentions of having a hellava summer break.

“If you don’t love Miami and want to extend your stay, you’ll need to do some introspective thinking ‘cause something is wrong with you,” my Miami informant, Toussaint personified, charged. In fact, the title was totally inspired by him. THANKS!

Aside from the great weather, walking up to where the waters meet the sand was an anticlimactic experience. It is the only place I’ve visited where segregation of color does not need legislation. Sandy brown and aqua blue are simply separated until the shift of the currents bring them together. The union of water and sand is greeted with an ocean's applause. Splash! Splash! Waters crashing and drowning my thoughts Miami consumed me while doing a Freestyle on my mind (http://www.coffeedreamz.com/poetry.htm). Those waves are the hem of Jesus's garment 'cause I felt I was made whole right then and there. The water's touched me (shout out to Ideana).

Once I had my hair colored, I jokingly claimed to be Cuban. The bronze highlights were a perfect contrast to my red, cocoa skin tone. Walking down Washington Avenue, a kind man shared a smile with me. I returned the gesture but quickened my pace no sooner than he started speaking Spanish. It was time to invest in that Learn to Speak Spanish in Ten Days cd.

Since space and your time won't permit, enjoy my top ten interesting things in South Beach:

10. The man at the bus stop who insisted that Tamu was Halle Barry (On our night walk on South Beach).

9. The teenagers in front of Lincoln Theater attempting to break dance for compensation. The audience was there, but we'd rather they rehearse in their Mama's basement instead of in front of us. SHOUT OUT TO THE KIDS WHO ROCKED in the 80s and tore up the cardboard or linoleum slab with your moves!

8. The greatest invention ever is the the cyber cafe. ONE ON EACH CORNER. Thanks Peter.

7. Gino's pizza. A taste of NYC was on Washington Avenue.

6. Me holding a snake that "appeared on National Geographic," according to the owner who suggested I pay him $5 to hold his pet. I did. Hey, you only live once. I'm not going to knock the man's hustle. He's trying to stay out of 9 to 5. Who can blame him? MIAMI IS BEAUTIFUL!

5. Parking meters can now be paid with credit cards. Saw this in Ocean City and Orlando, Florida. This might be a nation-wide phenomenon. So, be on the look out.

4. The man at the bus stop continues to insist that Tamu is Halle Barry (This is on the return trip to the hotel). I'm starting to think he lives there.

3. PARENTAL ADVISORY SUGGESTED: A souvenir shop sold a 1 inch penis that can grow 600% it's size (COVERING MOUTH). I was just trying to buy a hat for the captain's dinner on the ship. Honest...and there it was on the counter.

2. McDonald's has a walk up window.

1. The same McDonald's also had two patrons, in the open, setting up shop...a hair braiding shop. The braider smiled at us as if this was something normal.

LOVING THIS CITY and I can't wait to come back.

Until July...I'm on a Miami High!

Sincerely,
A. Brown Girl

Packing Light!

by A. Brown Girl copyright (c) 2006

The buttermilk biscuits and brown sugar bacon are swimming in the orange juice that lines my tummy. Mmm Mmmm. What a way to spend my last Sunday in my cozy, two bedroom, one bath berber carpeted haven. I truly am a city girl with country roots.

Living just inches away from the Stanton Dwelling projects in D.C. (now Henson Ridge townhome community) where this knock-kneed, pigeoned-toed brown girl used to play was a great homecoming. I moved to Florida for 9 months and returned after the passing of my mom. The city has changed. The people in it...lol that'a another story. Well, if you count the white man walking his dog at 6am in what used to be "THE HOOD..." then some of the people have changed.

As I prepare for my next traveling escapades, I decided to buy a house in the suburbs. I needed a place for the things I collect along the way. Sistah Badu never said it more clearly. "Pack Light!" Going on the eleventh move of my 30 years, I tried to be efficient. So, when I moved some of my things from Florida, I kept them in boxes and containers. I knew my time in the quaint apartment nestled in a secret location in S.E. Washington, D.C. was going to be short-lived. So I didn't unpack.

Even though I had an unexpected mouse to move in with the temporary furniture I bought, and a squirrel or bird (don't know which...it just kept scratching) lived just above my ceiling---later to be eaten by a litter of cats who purr through the morning, I am going to miss my neighborhood.

I say goodbye to my banking representative (shout out to Raymond) and that one employee at Safeway who didn't turn me in for accidently leaving with a bouquet of flowers (I forgot to pay...I was rushing from the teller window to head to church...LAWD FORGIVE ME). I say goodbye to the neighbor who called the cops on me because I still had out of state tags and so did everyone who visited me had tags from major drug trafficing states (NY, NJ, FL). Thank God I wasn't slanging anything but books (GEESH). BUT BEFORE I GO...here are my top ten reasons I'm going to miss living in urban America:

10. You can't get a better fish sandwich than in the hood.
9. "My people" will throw a bbq with or without a yard...side walk, in front of the apartment building, outta the back of Ray Ray's Tracker .
8. You will always have somebody to carry your groceries, cut your grass, take out your trash, or pump your gas (of course you'll need a few singles on hand).
7. You never have to wait for DVD Tuesdays for new releases.
6. There is always a dog show (mostly pits and rots).
5. If you're in good with the neighborhood corner boys, you won't lose sleep if you find you forgot to put the club on your car.
4. You won't go hungry 'cause someone, at any given time, is selling chicken/fish dinners complete with greens, mac and cheese, potato salad and a roll (the tea is extra...$0.25 more with shugga).
3. There's always a sale with Hustle Man .
2. The best financial advice comes from the lady using food stamps. She can stretch a stamp and make real cash off those fish dinners.
1. You will always be near someone willing to lend you a cup of sugar, flour, or a couple of slices of bread without your pride being hurt.

Southern, MD, here I come...but my heart rests in the city.