Car Stereos

As I’ve mentioned once before, my office is in a double portable located close to the intersection of Hillsborough Avenue and 22nd Street. I’m talking 20 feet from 22nd Street.

An interesting stream of folks walk and drive by each day. The good, the bad, and the fugly. Some are simply waiting for a bus, some are neighborhood folks carrying groceries home, some need immediate mental health remediation and/or a bath.

The cars that drive by are also an interesting lot. Most are simply the normal assortment of small and midsize vehicles or normal assortment of SUVs and pickups. The other day, I saw a rather large van with a rather large Confederate flag waving off a pole attached to its step board. I thought to myself, “Whoa Nellie!” Wrong neighborhood for that. That boy got no brains.

Also traveling along 22nd Street is an assortment of older cars that have been reworked to show huge chrome wheels, slick paint jobs, lots of chrome trim, dark tinted windows…..and after hearing the “music,” …..large stereo speakers.

When these cars go by, or worse, stop for the light, my office shakes. If I’m outside at that moment, my hears hurt. These guys ain’t playing Barry Manilow or John Denver songs.

With bass at full amp, they’re playing some rap diddie with lyrics such as, “the hoa bitch had my kid, had to cut that bitches head, she messed with my hood cred.” I could be wrong, but it sure didn’t sound like Barry White romance ballads.

Again, as I get older, the culture gap keeps haunting me. I keep thinking, what’s wrong with Simon and Garfunkel singing Sounds of Silence. Isn’t that rebellious enough.

I also keep thinking, “Who going to pay for that guys hearing aids next year?”

posted by admin @ 9:29 PM