Readin’ Rain-Bro is brought to you by the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank Emergency Aid Fund and the Cootie McBride Help the Financially Challenged Debt Consolidation Centers of America.
Readin’ Rain-Bro:
It’s time for “Street Corner Stories!” Grandma Pookie allowed me to use her front porch and share with you a story titled “Lil’ Ray-Ray’s Dream World” by Kunta “Rasheed-X” Toby.
Business was very slow at Lil Ray-Ray’s car wash and detail shop. Lil Ray-Ray said, “Folk are so broke they can’t afford to get their spinnin’ rims shined!” From his small wooden desk in his tiny office, he sits and patiently waits for a customer. “Not even a Cadillac,” he sighs.
Suddenly, Sista Gurl the Ghetto Fairy waves her magic afro comb over Lil’ Ray-Ray’s head. He falls asleep and enters a dream world.
In this world, the war on terrorism ends. Gas is 50 cent per gallon. Food prices are affordable. People work at good-paying jobs. Businesses thrive. Retirees get lifetime Social Security and Medicaid benefits. No more spammers, scammers and identity thieves on the Internet. No more “Michael Jackson Trial” news briefs on television, newspaper and satellite radio. Suburbanites do not associate all poor folk with urban crime any more. And everyone has good credit!
Lil’ Ray-Ray awakens when Sista Church hat says: “Hurry up, son! My Cadillac needs a good cleanin’ before I go to Bible study!”
The end … of a really nice dream, that is.
Ken Stiggers is a TV producer in Jackson and the co-host of The Lyric Lounge Thursdays at Santiago’s.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.