It's been a tough couple of years for me back here in the RDG. The culmination of bad luck, bad vibes, bad beats, and deaths has begun to take it's toll on my psyche. It's easy to allow oneself to become mired in the myriad of social, political, and economic ills that we face daily as a people. But conversely, our ability as a people to face these adversities together is our most promising avenue to permanent change.
My man, Mike Jules, was right. Reading is on the rebound, and the streets don't belong to the felons any longer. I'll leave you all with a few gems from "Jules": "Understand me though...working to change the future is never easy, physically or emotionally...you have to be able to take the positive things and acknowledge but release the negative....energy is everything. I'm working on my compassion and to be more patient. What are you working on?"
RIP Mike and know that those you left behind will never allow your passion, ambition, and love for the city fade. For all of you stick-up kids still runnin' the streets, know that there are many more "Mike Jules" out there. Young men who know life's truest rewards to be intangible and unattainable without strife. So... you can go on with your cheap, dirt hustles and suck in all the instant gratification your soured little souls feel they need. You will never fill that void with possessions or mountains of cash. And trust, if you think us educated, 20-something's of the city are soft for working towards peace in our streets; I've been at 2nd and D for 23 years and counting, come find me if you disagree.... I'll be waiting to change your disposition.
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