16/09/2018
Today, September 16, 2018, 3:35pm, two little girls walked the train selling their paintings. Everyone nodded. I couldnt just nod and let the fire of creativity in their hearts die out. I had to patronize this ingenuity.
One of the girls sat beside me, confidently showing the collections of art she had safely organized in her self-made folder. I stared with interest.
Unicorn, kangaroo, bunny, ... then this. I took the painting from her, the colors stroked my heart, then searched my wallet for the right gesture. No, no, i lingered, fighting off the one dollar note that kept winking at me. Finally, i made up my mind. Five dollars was fine.
'Thank you', she said, 'but that's seven dollars'. My eyes lit. She noticed. Ok, ' i'll let you have it for five dollars'.
'What do you intend to do with the money?' 'I'll save some and use some for my school supplies!'
'Nice! em', i searched my back pack, brought out a pen, the train, fast approaching the next stop, she and her sisters walked towards the door.
Me: 'can you sign here for...', the door opens, they waved and i waved back, smiling my request back into my tommy and relieving the smile of gratitude in their tiny eyes.
My point: $5 might be little. But i know i just added fuel towards the growth of the genuis that lie deep in their souls.
If we must progress as a race, African Americans and Africans in Diaspora, we must do more than words, for talk is cheap.
Let's support our own.