Do the Right Thing

Woman 7/2/09

Sometimes the world sends you a signal that says, “Hey! You! Yeah, you! Pay attention for there is much that you don’t know and paths will cross.”

And it was this morning where that sign appeared though it was little more than a wink and a wry smile.

In case some have missed it, and most have. It was the 20th anniversary of the release of the seminal Spike Lee movie, “Do the Right Thing”. 20 years ago when Public Enemy seared through the ears of the wayward youth, Rosie Perez turned boys into men and Ghetto-blaster entered the nation’s vocabulary. So, this very morning, if this wasn’t a sign, then perhaps it was just coincidence.

Have you ever seen a tote bag that resembled the large Ghetto-blaster that Radio Raheem was carrying around the entire movie? This one was black and on the front was a print of a very large, loud and colorful stereo or Ghetto-blaster. It was an exact reproduction on canvas from the knobs and switches right down to the red, yellow and green colors on the equalizer. Of course this being 1989, there was no CD player, just one large mouth of a cassette tape, plus two large speakers that anchored each side. And funny enough, the side panels of this tote bag had AV input and outputs in the standard red and yellow.

So, what sort of person carries this tote bag?

She, yes a she. I’d say mid-thirties to early forties if I had to guess. Her hair was short, curly and purple. Yes, purple. But the dye job might have gone a little awry as the hair was black in the lower back portion of her head. Or perhaps she had only wanted a crown of purple and liked the black below her eyeline.

Black was the predominant color of choice for her. A black sleeveless tank top – cotton crewneck. A black knit skirt that ended at the knee with a slight flare. Not chunky but honestly looked homemade. And the shoes? Black. Black Converse Chuck Taylor lowcuts. No socks though, this was summer after all.

For all the juxtaposition of her old school radio tote bag. She was actually wearing these black wireless headphones. The oval panel connecting each ear bud was had a Motorola logo which was lit up in blue to signal the use of Bluetooth. And when she pulled out her iPod Touch, you could see the adaptor plugged into the player.

The Young Ones

Girl 4/22/09

Iron Fist. That was the name on the hoodie with the all-over print. That hoodie print was repeats of this cartoon-like alien head, all done in multiple colors and haphazardly arranged. The head reminded me of the old Area 51 Martians that we used to see in old comic books. All those pink, green, blue and yellow heads. The zipper pull was that same alien head in blue. The reverse side of the hood was black, as were the ribbed cuffs. The hoodie looked a slightly too large on her. A stark contrast to the jet black skinny jeans she was wearing.

That hoodie was easily the loudest piece of clothing on this young girl. But by no means the last. Her shoes were in the mold of canvas Chuck Taylors, but with a twist that matched her hoodie. From the front, the shoes were a standard black canvas high-top. The long tongue was flipped over to reveal a reverse that was a bright neon pink. The back and the near-rear sides of the shoes were decorated with a print that looked like someone threw up hot neon colored noodles and other assorted mostly digested food items.

Her black JanSport backpack had matte black stars printed all over. And the left shoulder strap had her name written in block letters running vertically from top to bottom. She also had her name on the front of the pack, right under the JanSport logo.

She was carrying her black down bomber. Short and white a hood that was trimmed in faux grey fur. There was a print on the jacket, but indistinguishable the way that the jacket was placed on her lap.

For all the color and attitude her clothing was saying to the world. The rest of her was really quite plain. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was full of curls. The bangs barely covered her forehead. There was no trace of makeup, no earrings (though the holes were there), and no accessories of any kind. Heck, she didn’t even have an iPod. And she had on a pair of basic black rectangular framed glasses.

Halfway through the ride, she pulled out a day-planner, and proceeded to look her calendar over and made some entries with a pen.

Could this girl who dressed in a hoodie made by an obscure South African street brand be the same plain girl using an old fashioned day-planner?