Who Would Have Thought...

a friend of a friend
who has come into my life
odd as the river

I met Ralphie during college, Cariña introduced me to him over the telephone. Of course being Puerto Rican, and one raised in the Bronx, you know that he's got the only ill attitude. In reality, Ralphie is a sweet guy, and because of this, he's taken advantage of easily. Regardless, I keep it real with him so that he has some sort of "grounded" perspective.

Ralphie is here in Palm Beach with me. He lives down the street from my job, almost three blocks away. Seeing him has become a daily occurrence at the Little Haiti Video Store. While he spends a lot of time there while I'm working and he mooches off the phone, I'm glad that I can see a familiar face on the regular.

Today, Ralphie and I pushed his SUV up the hill at the gas station because it ran out of gas and was unable to move on its own. I can honestly say that I've never really pushed a car before; if I have pushed a car it was more than likely my own or a car belonging to a blood related individual.

I don't know what it is about Ralphie. I don't feel sorry for him, because I know he's got skills, he's just been dealt a bad hand. I know it's not pity, because I don't pity anyone -- whatever they've made of themselves is their own responsibility. I feel bonded to Ralphie, not in a homo sense, even tho there was that one time... never mind. But bonded in such a manner that I need to be the one he can count on when there's no one else there for him.

His family is large, but they're not like my family. If you listen to Sade, put on the song Jezebel. That's Ralphie. He's got friends, but no one that's really dependable. His family is scattered across the country, and he's currently having an issue with his father. He stays with his half brother, one who I hit on in the video store and had no idea. My family on the other hand are still in one piece. We can depend on each other when we need help and nothing could ever really come between us like that.

Ralphie is asleep on my bed at the moment. I fed him the leftovers we had from dinner this evening, and since then the itis has set in. He's resting soundly as I'm here putting his shit on blast.

Ralphie & I are an interesting combination. I don't know what to do with him sometimes. He always finds himself in the same kind of predicament -- be it job searching, Dominican bitches or his homophobia. Each issue is a book in itself, and there is clearly not enough time to blog about each issue independently at this hour of the morning, but I think Ralphie is going to be here for some time, so no doubt there will be much more to come in the future.

Yo, reheat that shit up in the oven; the microwave makes it soggy... You heard?