Inman's Episodes of Life

"70 in Reflection" # 1

As I reflect on my now 70 years plus, I'm struck with the interesting journey I've traversed over those years. I've decided to provide some excerpts of that journey in a hope that as others reflect on your lives either past or to come, you will use your life snapshots to renew your spirit and feel grateful for your life as I do. I'm selecting some episodes that were meaningful to me and hope they can have some degree of inspiration for others.

My first reflection is from around the time I arrived in Philadelphia to live with my mother. Having recently gone through a break-up, she was now living in North Central Philly in what euphemistically was known as the gang capital. Actually, gang wars were prevalent and when one would break out, I was told that even the police wouldn't show up until after the gunfire stopped.

I remember one Sunday my cousin & I came up with the brilliant idea that we wanted to get some air. We went out onto the street exploring. This guy was standing on the corner that appeared to know his way around. We marched up to him and told him that we were new to the neighborhood and introduced ourselves. Vincent was his name & he was the gang leader. Amazingly, we developed a friendship that lasted until we moved. I never gang banged.