A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

April 1st, Sunday... I got fooled today! I'm not interested in the April Fools Day thing but I got got today. I clicked on a Facebook post today and saw a bunch of people on a New York City subway taking off their pants and drawers while riding! I guess it was an April fools joke or something. Anyway, it got me to thinking...
The cost of freedom is high (higher than gas!). Men and women are losing their lives fighting and patrolling in foreign lands while there are some who come up with idiotic ideas to pass the time. Now, I admit to not thinking about the troops during most of my day. But, I do think about the troops when I read about people abusing the privilege! C'mon, stripping in a subway car, exposing one's ass (and whatever else) and for what? Because they can?
And, what if...what if someone decides to cop a feel or poke a puss or get all worked up at the sight of someone's ass being exposed and reek havoc while in the close quarters of that subway car? What if one of the exposed has a rash and, by accident or on purpose, rub on someone and the rash is deadly and the train pulls into the 42nd St. (Times Square) station and everyone in the car is dead? Okay, what if one or some of the naked people is funky beyond belief and the odor is like a deadly gas and kills everyone in the car as it pulls into the 42nd St. (Times Square) station? Or worse, the train pulls into the Franklin Ave. station and endangers the life of those who live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn? That would be a BIG ASS problem because the Mayor doesn't give a rat's ass about Brooklyn! Imagine that 911 call... "Hello, 911? We have a serious emergency?" "Where are you calling from?" "Brooklyn...! Hello... hello!" (Dial tone!)

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

Tuesday, July 22nd... Man! I have to apologize. I have been on a world wind tour of NY/NJ and now I am back at my desk to share the experience. NY was great! Between the gunfire and the pitbulls, Brooklyn was as lively as always... (I walked around when it was deemed safe!)I enjoyed the sights and sounds of my old neighborhood. The different dialects of the Caribbean fill the air as the arguments continue on the street corners all hours of the day. I love the smell of meat patties and jerk chicken as the combination penetrate my nose and head straight for my brain, allowing me to envision what it must be like to live on an island other than Staten (Island). The women are scantily dressed and walking around freely as if danger is on vacation. My head snaps around as though I am watching a tennis match. I also got a kick out of watching jobless 18 year olds drive around in 6 Series Beemers and Escalades and wonder how they made that happen(?). I went to Manhattan to take in the sights. It always amazes me to see the different hustles people come up with. There is an actual Mariochi (Is that spelled right?) Band that rides the Q train, playing their music as subway riders fill their ten gallon cowboy hats with change as they stroll through the cars. (Ahh, only in New York... and Mexico!) I'm going back up there next week. I want to monitor the progress of the gentrification movement taking place. Not to worry, my passport is current in case I have to move back to Africa by order of the NBA! (The Nets are moving to Brooklyn and the rents are going up!