‘…I want a Lexus…and hideaway mansion in the Hamptons….’
~Angie Stone and Anthony Hamilton~
Ok, so my Honesty Box ??? asked what character in a movie did you relate to and why? Ever since Friday, I’ve been relating myself to Latika’s character in Slumdog Millionaire – much to the shock and embarrassment of Tarchell.
**Her outburst at 3AM in a random IHOP @ an undisclosed part of town was ‘But she’s a HOOKA!’, followed by our newfound friend and Brutha To the Night, Saint, who said in his East Coat accent, “Yeah, ma…shorty was a prostitute.” They don’t get it, so let me explain.
The three main characters (Jamal, his older brother Salim, and their friend Latika) represented The Three Musketeers – people whose lives seemed to be so random apart, yet inexplicably tied in destiny. The way they related to each other was totally the way that the three of us do. Kinda like hot water, grits and butter. You look at each ingredient like yeah…ok…whateva…but when they come together? Damn!
So for those of you who know her, you guessed it! Tarchell…is Slumdog Millionaire. Not only is she just the person to end up in a place like ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ with no rhyme or reason (with a crazy look on her face lol) – while people scratch their heads in amazement but she’ll get ALL of the answers right. Not because she’s read every book or mastered the teachings of the universe, but simply because she listens to God and somehow just KNOWS.
Eric (for anyone who has ever been apart of his capers) …is Salim. Salim is the eldest…and sometimes an unsavory type dude. You can’t help but want to simultaneously hug and shake the shit out of him. What people don’t realize is that he carries the weight of being the ‘father figure’ on his shoulders. He seems to pull it off with swag light-skinned Morris Chestnut-ishness (c) Jhmeid, 2009, but sometimes you don’t realize just how heavy that load is. While you may not agree with his path, rest assured that he loves his family and if pushed against the wall will make the ultimate sacrifice.
And me? Well, hell I’m Latika. All my life, I’ve been drawn to the two of them. And they’ve been really the only family that I know. Every experience that I’ve had (good or bad) I’ve either directly experienced with them at my side or they’ve gone thru identically in a parallel universe.
When they were kids and Salim locked Jamal in the outhouse so that he couldn’t get her picture autographed? Yep. I could TOTALLY see Eric doing that to Tarchell . Not only that, I could see Tarchell thinking that her only way out was to jump into that huge pile of shit holding the picture above her head.
And when she finally ran through the crowd, covered in shit and actually GOT the autograph? Just like Salim, Eric would steal and sell it for 50 cents – while giving her a look like “What did you expect? Why are you yelling?”.
If you’re reading, my dear friends, do you both remember the mountains, the rollercoaster (whee!!!) and Eric destroying Tarchell’s transmission – followed by Eric’s “I really don’t know what you’re upset about. It’s a car. It can be fixed. Holding in all of that anger while giving me hostile looks is unhealthy.” 🙂
I could also see myself, the day all of their parents were slaughtered standing in the rain while they were hiding in the alley for shelter waiting to be invited to join them. It didn’t matter that she was getting soaked, looking pigeon-toed and foolish. Latika was just like me. In the midst of a crisis, even when I see people that may be able to help – I choose to stand alone…and wait. True to form, Eric would take a peek, grumble like Salim and fall asleep – while Tarchell would beckon me over, to join them as their sister.
About that ho stuff. Yes, there were a chain of events that happened to put Latika in a position that she was trapped in – one of which being separated from the two of them… her foundation. Just like when that happens to me, she gave up and accepted her fate, but couldn’t see her destiny. Latika didn’t know that in that moment, in a parallel universe Jamal was still looking for her. The same way that whenever I’m going thru my day to day drama, Tarchell is somewhere searching for me. Never giving up, never would.
And even after everything. The laughs. The sense of emotional security with each other. The betrayal. The maturation into adulthood. The separation. After everything is everything, their lives come full circle and fold into each other.
Jamal needs a life line. He calls Salim. Latika needs an escape. Salim helps her, while giving up his own life. Jamal reaches Latika and while she doesn’t have the answer – she gives him the emotional balance to close his eyes, trust God and KNOW. At the end of it all, when they finally meet back up, Jamal sees Latika for who she is in her core – when they were kids, at the point where they all began to lose their innocence and naivety. They see and know each other. And all bullshit aside, that’s really the only thing that they’ve ever really needed. Same goes for the three of us.
So yeah, I’m Latika…and my destiny will always be tied to my Jamal and my Salim. If, like in the movie, It is written…I can’t imagine it being any other way.
**~An excerpt from my memoirs entitled “ATL Shawty: The Yeek! Chronicles”~
The time is right
Randy Pierre at first glance struck me as kind of an odd name for such a beautiful woman but after further inspection I understand why such a bold name was bestowed upon this vivacious, fun, down-to-earth New York girl from the block. No Mas! Cantina was the gathering place for old friends and two new ones to laugh and enjoy “something disguised as food”. As you all know I LOVE FOOD, but I can’t even give a food critique of No Mas! Cantina, let’s just say No Mas Cantina = No Bueno! *DEAD on Mexican comida*.
F3 