This is not what I wanted when I said I wanted to be present for this new year.
Of course,
I step onto Elon’s social swamp and on day one of 2025,
I’m hit with the grim reminder of just how fragile life is.

it took me back to NOLA in 2020 for mardi gras with one of my best friends.
bourbon street was intense…

walking through the crowd,
shoulder to shoulder,
with all kinds of strangers pressed together in celebration.
at one point,
i thought if i lose sight of her in this crowd,
she might as well be gone forever.

She couldn’t be gone forever because she was my ride.

we had fully charged phones,
but she was borderline drunk.
i wasn’t far behind,
a little buzzed,
but farther away from fucked up.
my inhibitions were down but since i was in a new forest,
i stayed alert.
even surrounded by fine southern wolves,
who could make you forget your own name,
my instincts stayed sharp.
i wasn’t about to let my guard down completely.

Yesterday,
imagining that same Bourbon street,
the laughter replaced by screams and joy shattered by violence.
The image of that lady standing over her friend’s lifeless body,
paralyzed by grief,
hit me in a way i wasn’t expecting.

is it possible to truly live in the moment…

…when you know how quickly it can be stolen from you?

lowkey: the video with the black girl dying was a grim example of gone in an instant.
she probably doesn’t even know she died.
rest in peace to all the victims in this extremely senseless tragedy.