All Hail the Yo-Yo King
Walking home from the store I approached three boys, about 15 years old, hanging out on a stoop. Two sat as 'the audience' while the third stood in the middle of the sidewalk doing tricks with a yo-yo. He was really good at it. Every time he would attempt and then successfully execute a trick, he'd squeal loud and long, amazed and delighted it worked.
"Yo dog, why you act like such a retard?" Seated #1 said. The yo-yo kid's face fell.
Seated #2 chucked #1 on the shoulder, "Man, you just jealous that he can do that shit and you can't."
"No I ain't. Look at him...all trifflin' with child's toys, yelling like a girl. Jealous? Please."
"Yeah you is. Admit it." seated #2 began. The kid with the yo-yo had stopped doing tricks. He just stood there nervously winding the cord around the ball. After a quiet beat Seated #2 continued, "You don't gotta be like that dog, it's okay to just admit it. He's really good at something you can't do and you're jealous."
There was a silent pause that made my heart break. I felt the jury go out on the yo-yo kids entire future of cool. The wrong response had him putting the yo-yo deep in the sock drawer and never touching it again, or worse, smashing it against the sidewalk on the way home. I had passed them at the last exchange, and was probably three houses away when seated #1 finally broke the silence with a burst of laughter, "You right man, that shit IS crazy. How'd you learn to do that?..."
I turned around just in time to see the yo-yo king unravel the cord again. "My Pops." he said. "C'mon, I'll show you... it's easy, you could be as good as I am in like a week." Seated #1 took the yo-yo and the murmurs of apprenticeship followed me down to my door.
My faith in humanity has been fully recharged.
Thanks.
Posted by Antigeist at May 16, 2003 07:37 PM
