Memory Revision Prompt

10/30/2014

Write about an event from your childhood through your adult eyes (Perhaps Halloween?).  Add perceptions that you could not have known at the time.

A memory I can remember from when I was younger was being in a very ghetto neighborhood of Harrisburg, PA. I remember bring in my mom.s car and pointing out rather loudly that two guys I saw were doing a drug deal, or at least what I thought was a drug deal about 30 yards in front of us. I remember thinking it was wrong and rather crazy to be doing out in the open during the daytime.

I now look back and first think it was dumb to point it out loudly, because drug dealers and purchasers, especially in the ghetto have a reputation for being armed, paranoid, and dangerous. I also think that the fact they were doing the deal out in public when it was light out isn't actually that strange for a few reasons. First drug dealers aren't known for being smart people overall, so doing something questionable isn't too odd. Second, if it is light out you can more easily see that the money you're being handed is correct, for the dealer, and for the purchaser you can check the quality of the drugs you are buying with more ease as well. Third, this is a ghetto community, even cops were afraid to do foot patrols there, so the day time or anytime really, is perfectly safe for deals to be done because cops usually aren't around those areas to see or care about your actions. Finally, in the neighborhood where I witnessed this, the practice of dealing drugs probably isn't that unusual, to the point that acting like it is not odd is more acceptable and less alarming than if it had been in an alley at night where onlookers would be certain what they are seeing is a nefarious act.