A homie named Cruz spent his last dollars taking a Metrolink train sixty miles to Los Angeles from San Bernardino, where he had relocated his lady and newborn to avoid the dangers and desperation of his previous gang life. He had a part-time job but could not get his boss to give him more hours. Now he sits in my office, rattling off a list of the pressures and needs of his family. With no safety net in sight but me, he speaks of no food in the fridge, no lights, landlord looming, no bus fare. When he finishes this breathless account, Cruz stops, shaken and exhausted. He grows teary-eyed and says quietly, “I just keep waiting.”
“For what, son?” I ask.
“For the last to be first.”
~ Gregory Boyle, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship
Notes:
- Quote – Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels. Photo: if0neia
- Related Post: Riding Uptown. Saving the Best For Last.
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