Race relations in 2009

I have a story for you about race relations. A couple months ago, Micah and I were at a TJ Maxx-type store in a pretty exclusively black neighborhood. It was Sunday and the other shoppers in the store were dressed up in church clothes. Most of the women were wearing all white dresses and giant white hats. The men were wearing really awesome, colorful suits with crazy looking shoes. The music pumped into the store was black gospel. The home aisle was mostly black angel figurines. We might have both felt a little uncomfortable and out of place, but weren't talking about it. I picked out two hanging baskets for plants and we took them to the register to pay. We brought our own shopping bags, and after the lady at the register rung us up, we were putting the baskets in our bags when we heard, in the whitest, most high-pitched-valley-girl-woman voice, "Oh my gosh you guys! Thank you so much for recycling! It is seriously soooo important!" Micah and I both snapped our heads up to see who was talking. When we saw that it was a black woman in her 30s and not my sister Jenny with that voice, we both started laughing nervously. I really awkwardly said, "It's easy if you remember!" and we left the store.

Sometime I may tell you about how, a couple of weeks ago, I was walking and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black man charging at me. I thought it was a crazy person who was going to stab me. I started screaming as I was sure I was about to die. I looked up at the man as he was holding onto me. He was old and looked terrified. "I slipped! I have a bum knee!". Then, we hugged for like a minute and a half and held each other's hands and apologized to each other over and over. He said, "You don't be afraid of black people and I won't be afraid of white people." "Deal!" I said. A man on his smoke break was standing off to the side said, "Google Earth just saw that whole thing." It was weird and kind of nice if you like hugging strangers, which I do.