بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

I pray you are all well and experiencing abundant blessings from Our Saviour, Master Fard Muhammad (To Whom Be Praised Forever!) I am Saidah (happy) to say that I am the same Al Hamdulillah!!!

Can you dig the track?!?!? 🙂 They’ve been having these weekend popups for Nimrod and I saw some white skates with pink wheels. Ironically, the last things I ordered online before I became homeless were some identical white skates with pink wheels (but I think mine had pink pompoms too) and a cherry seeder! Needless to say, I never enjoyed the benefits of these two items. And, I didn’t purchase the skates from the pop-up because a.) they were being offered by two drag queens and b.) they were not my size.

The next week when I saw them there again, I knew they were meant for me because a.) this was the beach and nobody copped them! b.) they had to be there for a reason! also c.) I had ordered some and never got to enjoy them.

So, I looked around for one of the drag queens. In their stead was a fag hag, who called me honey and I hated it, as usual. Nevertheless, I contemplated the cash I had and decided to use my emergency twenty. Because some things you just cannot pass up and money is, well, there’s always more.

https://www.target.com/c/top-gifts/-/N-7iz6l

So, I had asked how much and the fag hag told me everything was between 5 and 40. So, I was about to inquire about the skates and then I noticed a framed sign next to them that read $15! I was stoked!!! Took out the brie and picked up the skates. Handed my twenty to the chick and waited for my change.

You know how they do us. Just because I’m Black, she started hollin’ bout, “I usually sell these for forty!”

As if!!!

I didn’t say nothing, but telepathically, I was like, “Hoe, if you don’t give me my money,” as she huff3d and puff3d and reluctantly started to dig for my change.

Sisters, I really thought I was about to put on those skates and, OH! First let me tell you what I did to stretch them so I could be comfortable in them.

When I made my campfire, I put the skates next to the flame because heat causes everything to expand. When they got nice and warm, I put on a couple pairs of thick socks and wore them for awhile. Now, I just wear my regular socks and they fit perfectly.

Okay, so back to my first time skating in about fifteen. I didn’t fall, luckily, but I was not the Dorothy Hamill on Roller Skates that I pictured myself. I just skated around the promenade and pushed to wherever I was headed that night.

Two days ago, I found myself in Venice at the skate park at around eight in the morning and there was one sister there who was wrapping it up, so I gave her one of my new laminated fliers and sat down to put on my skates.

Why, everybody gotta check me out when I’m trying to be incognegro! I guess they’ve never seen a Muslimah roller skate.

There was this Brother, whom I recognized from my Paradise 24 days, smoking some cheeba on the bench near me, like I was supposed to acknowledge him. I was like, “Boy, pleeeeze! If you don’t mind putting that out. I am not tryna catch a contact!!!”

I wrote a song called “Can I get another mask?” for just such an occasion… Jeez!

I got an Obamaphone yesterday when I went to replace my wornout EBT card, so I’ll prolly record it. I really gotta be in the mood though, you know, cuz I mean it!

But when I got on the little roller skate park, it took me a minute but I finally hit my groove and it was on!

I felt like Dorothy! So. fun.

Hitting the curve and emerging from it backwards. Exhilarating! I can’t wait to do it again.

It’s been raining all day but now, I hear skating in music like the above track, but that day in my head was playing this song that was in the air one day as I pushed to Walmart in NOLA.

I have been meaning to tell you about something that happened about two months ago. I was at the Farmer’s Market, chilling listening to the Brothers play and then I saw the Brother from the Five Heartbeats. Wait. No, he was already there when I walked up because I went up to him and said, “You really into music!?!?!! WOW!” and he played the old-man-who-just-wants-to-get-closer-to-you-card

“What? I didn’t hear you.” and leaned in So, I repeated myself. But this was at the Market where there are a lot of celebrities, but also a lot of doppels and just to be clear that he wasn’t a doppel (although, there was no doubt) he snapped his fingers to the Jazz and said, “Oh, yeah! Music is the HEARTBEAT of life!” or the heartbeat of our lives. I can’t remember. But it still makes me laugh.

I googled him and discovered his name is TICO WELLS. And, he did look well😍 Fly Grey-beard banging!!! Definitely cuter than ’91, when the movie premiered.

But, although TICO has a nice musical sound, it’s also why he is so little! We were eye to eye.

He should change his name to AKBAR and I bear witness he will reach six feet, 250!!!

This is the second time I saw someone famous for music (Andre) while I was right there in front of them. Dre even said he wanted to play with them but his flute was “in the wrong key.” At the time I bought it, but he could have waited until they got to a song in the same key, or something!

But musicians can be very temperamental and eccentric and I don’t know, playing together requires a certain cohesiveness. And I really don’t think he felt confident enough about his playing to join those two powerhouses, instrumentally.

Now, if they had a mic, maybe… But it has been a minute since his funky last cut and where is Antwan?!?

I didn’t even think about introducing them. Next time, In Sha Allah.

The Five Heartbeats High Note GIF