Monday, September 17, 2007


Where are they now?


This past weekend I saw three former classmates and all I can say is God bless his children. One classmate was absolutely gorgeous. I remember that she was sought after by many of our male classmates. Her skin was a beautiful mocha brown colored and she had these beautiful light brown eyes. Her hair was super thick and flowed to her shoulders. She was pleasant and had such a friendly and pleasing personality. What I saw this past weekend was a shell of a woman. She was still petite but seriously too skinny, with short, broken off hair, bad skin, torn and raggedy clothing and begging for money for drugs. I believe she recognized me though I would not give her any money.

Another classmate was a Christian. She was sanctified and saved. Everybody who knew her was aware of that fact and respected her. She was from a family of siblings who stayed in the church almost daily. They were all immaculately dressed and were friendly and quiet. She was also very beautiful and had this gorgeous smile. She was a very light skin teen when we graduated from high school. Several years later I found out that she managed a chain of restaurants. This past Saturday as I drove to Illinois to visit my mother, my sister said, “there is Gloria.”

“Gloria who?”

“You know the girl you graduated with. I told you she was a crack head. Pull over.”

I pulled the car over and she walks over to my car. “Hey ya’ll. Is that you Niecey?”

“Yeah this me,” my sister responded.

“Please Niecey, please give me some money.”

She was leaning through my back window talking to my sister in the back. I looked back and saw her hand shaking hard. She was feening for drugs badly. I couldn’t stop looking at her. Her perfect teeth were gone, but she still had on braces except they were welded in her gums. Obviously she once had good dental care but now could not get the braces off because she was unemployed and an addict. She was filthy dirty, and rail thin. Her once pretty skin was dusty and dry and she was now four shades darker. I glared at her because I was shocked at her appearance. As I looked at her, she never once looked toward the drivers’ seat. So she didn’t know that it was me or didn’t care.

My sister had given her money on several occasions so she felt that she could get more money from her. As my sister told her that she didn’t have anything to give this day, she pleaded harder. I wanted badly to give her some money but my hand would not move toward my purse. Finally we left her and she headed to other cars flagging them down. We drove in silence for a while too shocked and stunned to say anything. As I drove off I wondered should I have fed her drugs by giving her money. More
on the third person later.

13 comments:

JustMeWriting said...

DAG... drugs have destroyed our community. It's crazy that crack is still around and it seems to be making a come back...it's so very sad.

Believer said...

I'm concerned about this very subject. A panhandler asked me for a dollar before entering Wal-Mart yesterday. My heart aches for anyone who begs. I would want to give, but on the condition that I could pray with them and tell them of the saving love I know.

I am reminded that but for the grace of God go all of us. "He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps." Psalms 40:2

TJ said...

I know how you feel. I have a cousin who was a beautiful cheerleader and married the quarterback of the football team, but she got into cocaine, and I can't even talk about the rest of the story.

I somehow came across some stuff she wrote when she was in high school and she was into weed back then (I don't care who wears it on a t-shirt, it's a gateway drug). I guess you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Like Rosemarie said, there but for the grace of God...

Michelle said...

Hopefully your old school acquantances will get the help they need and they'll be able to turn their lives around. God helps those that help themselves...It's never too late...

Dr. Deb said...

Oh, that is a tough one to answer.

kathi said...

Couldn't have done it myself, but I could have bought her a meal from Burger King and maybe something to wear and taken it to her. Because, but for the grace of God, there'd I'd be.

Me, Myself, and I said...

Dang!...drugs have destroyed so many people as well as families; it's just sad. Drug addition is no joke, and until the person is willing to get the assistance they need to kick the habit, there is nothing you can do for them. They are a shell of their former self; they aren't the people you knew before their addition.

Believer said...

A real revelation for me was watching the HBO six-hour miniseries based on the true story "THE CORNER."

http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/2007/01/corner.html

David Mills, one of the writers of the miniseries comments.

Gina said...

Having several siblings that have experimented with/ over come/ fallen victim to drugs, I can honestly say that it is a difficult challenge to try and move forward, or let them alone (and live with the guilt of sustaining their habits or giving in and easing the existing pain).
There but for the grace of God, go I.

Luke Cage said...

Dayum Rosey. That had to be painful to see. Some of the folks we grew up with or went to school were so cool and appeared to have it going on. Then they go out into the real world and things go miserably wrong. So very tragic.

Brotha Buck said...

Very sad. I have an old friend, my best friend, that happened to. I don't know what ever happened to him. Them, actually, both my best buddies from highschool ended up on drugs.

BostonPobble said...

What sad, sad stories. What is even sadder is that we all seem to have them ~ regardless of where we grew up, what color our skin is, what size houses were in our neighborhoods. I'm not sure when we as a society are going to get it. It hasn't happened yet, though.

It's good to read you again. You've been missed.

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