I needed a catchy title and I think that pretty much sums up this post.  I met my co-worker Richard back in 2007 and worked with him through 2009, right before I left to Washington DC.  Richard was very humble, smart, a hard worker, and grew up in Southeast Houston, Texas.  If you ever had the opportunity to meet Richard, you would think he’s a very unassuming guy.  Richard was a good guy and one who was very supportive of his friends.  He would laugh at your joke even if it was really bad or corny.  He was quiet and to himself but every once in awhile he would give you a story of his past.  Whenever Richard would talk about his past, my co-workers and I would find it hard to believe that Richard was a “man of the streets” at some point in his life.  My co-worker and best friend Daisy sometimes joked about Richard’s sketchy past on our lunch break as it didn’t seem to fit his character. Any talk of his past would then be overshadowed by his love for conspiracy theories (mainly aliens), talk radio, 90’s Hip Hop, and his adoring wife, Maria.

I had moved to Houston, Texas in 2004 and by 2008, I had bought my first house in Southeast Houston.  I was familiar with most areas in Southeast mainly because that’s where I was placed when I worked for the Houston Public Library system.  Around 2008, I had talked to Richard about starting up a co-ed softball team.  I was ready to start a new team and was gauging interest with my friends.  Richard was excited and really wanted to do it even though he had never played softball before.  He was a big baseball fan like me and expressed that he could hit but not catch.  We formed a bit of a kinship because I also was not a great fielder but could hit the crap out of a softball.  We made plans to go to the park and play catch one day after work.

On a nice Fall-like day in Houston, which is rare, we made plans to go to the park.  I picked him up from his house and we drove to nearby Settegast Park.  I remember wanting to buy a house in that neighborhood but I was priced out.  Richard had always warned me about the crime in the area but I didn’t really pay it much attention.  I was fond of the neighborhood as I knew some of the local artists in the area.  I started my library career at nearby Stanaker branch and I absorbed the community I worked in.  I had been to parties in this area, I got my haircut at the nearby barbershop, played basketball at Settegast a couple of times and even celebrated my birthday there, playing kickball with my friends and family.  The area near the park had some really beautiful homes and it wasn’t very far from downtown.  The area was going through a lot of re-development and I didn’t feel threatened.  I figured I blended in.  Majority of the residents there are Hispanic and I didn’t feel like an outsider until I ordered food at a local taqueria.

Richard and I pulled up to the park.  We start playing catch on the softball field.  I remember seeing a group of guys playing basketball but I didn’t pay them much attention.  Rich and I kept throwing the ball to each other and at times I felt like the guys on the basketball court were eyeing us but I didn’t give it much thought.  After an hour, the sun started to set, Rich and I head back to the car.  I noticed the guys on the court were starting to leave as well.  I put the bat and gloves in the trunk.  Rich and I are talking as we head into my car.

I turn on the car and see the guys from the basketball court get into their cars.  The first car heads out of the parking spot and parks by the entrance/exit of the parking lot. The second car moves towards the first car and slowly moves to the back of my car.  At first, I’m puzzled and was like, Why is this idiot parked behind my car?  I was surprised that the car wasn’t moving and I start to get frustrated.  Immediately, Richard tells me to look forward and to grab my phone from my pocket.  He starts instructing to play with my phone, to act like I’m sending a text on my lap.  I was puzzled at first and then he yells at me to keep messing with my phone.  Richard then opens my glove box and starts messing with his phone as well.  Richard then tells me to look down at my phone and then to slowly look back on my left shoulder.  While I do this, he passes me something from the glove box.  He also starts looking towards the back of the car and tells me to relax and just act like you’re preparing for them to come out of the car. I was in shock and started to understand the severity of the situation.  Both cars had dark tinted windows on their vehicles, so I couldn’t see what was going on inside their cars and it was clear that both cars were in communication with one another.  I was nervous and realized that someone with a gun may come out of the car behind us to rob us.  I didn’t know what else to do until Richard yelled at me to keep playing with my phone.  Right after that, I glanced at the driver side mirror and saw both cars slowly moving out of the parking lot.  I was scared and immediately asked Richard if those guys were going to rob us.  He responded with a yes and began to smile.  He then chuckled and was like man, you almost blew it!  I told him that I had no idea what to do.  Richard then told me that he needed me to play with the phone and that he opened the glove compartment to make it seem like we both had guns.  Richard wanted to give them the impression that we were loading our guns and that we were going use them when they walked towards the car.

 

Stunned, I asked, ...And they bought it???  Richard said, I guess so.  Let’s get out of here man.  On the drive back, Richard kept laughing at me and repeated how he wished I could have seen my face!  I laughed but was not comfortable with the idea that we just bluffed our way out of a possible robbery or car jacking.  Richard didn’t seem phased by the situation and started to ask softball questions.  We talked about catching and defensive positioning in softball but my mind was still in a state of shock.  I drove humbled by the fact that I underestimated the neighborhood I was in and underestimated Richard’s street smarts, which saved my ass.  I wanted to ask Richard how he was able to react to the situation the way he did but I decided I would ask him the next day at work as I didn’t want to think about it anymore.

As I dropped Richard off, I asked, What would have happened if they got out of the car?  His response was, We would have been robbed Kerby!  He walked away with his signature smile and chuckled as he went inside of his home.  The next day, I asked Richard, how he managed to get us out of that situation and he just smiled.  Oh Kerby, don’t worry about it man.  He never gave me a concrete answer.  I was hoping that he would have told me that some OG from Macario Garcia Drive gave him the Gangsta Degree of Magnolia Park.  He never did talk about that day and whenever I would tell people about his street smarts, he would smile and chuckle.  He never jumped into the conversation to make fun of me but just kept to himself, almost like he really wanted to distance himself from that persona.  Once I moved to D.C., we didn’t really talk much.  He’s not on Facebook and if he was he would have faded into those categories of people I used to see often but now I click to see what’s new.  This memory of Richard will never go away as I’m reminded of how savvy people can be in certain situations.