[SEL] Totally Off Topic

[John Culp]

Well, I might as well post what I just sent off-List about this. I'm 
not advocating racism. It stinks, wherever it's practiced all over the 
world. And it sure is common.

My son Joe had lots of other encounters with black folks in Brooklyn. 
They were nonthreatening, most of them friendly and pleasant. Some of 
them who called him "white boy" and "cracker" were concerned about his 
welfare when he had lost his coat and was going to work on cold 
mornings in T-shirts. As for Joe, some guy with more dollars than sense 
had given him a $20 to switch seats with him on a plane. He still had 
it in a pocket when he ran into a poor couple, the crying woman 
obviously pregnant, who said they'd missed the free dinner at a 
neighborhood church. He gave them the $20. Didn't mention their color. 
Didn't care. Said he felt like he was meant to have that money to help 
them. But like I said, that gang of young thugs wanted to bust his ass 
because he was white. Go figure.

Why's he up there in New York? Trying to make a living, same as most 
folks. I think he's going to do right well at it, too. Takes a little 
while to get the pump primed for the cash flow. He's not starving, 
though. (He's been there all of two months.) He's getting flown to 
Paris next week for a two-day shoot (he's a model) that'll make him a 
pretty nice chunk of change, and a couple of Prada executives came to 
his agency Friday to interview him and his roommate for a show in 
Milan. That caused quite a stir at the agency, where they were 
expecting Miuccia Prada herself to show up. (I think she had called 
them to set it up.) Might as well have been the Queen coming. I figure 
the only way a couple of unknown new guys like these could have come to 
her attention was if she had been in the audience at the fashion show 
on April 30 to benefit the Parsons New School for Design at the Grand 
Hyatt Hotel in New York, in which both of them modeled. It was quite an 
affair with a lot of notable designers and other celebrities there. I 
figure Ms. Prada might've seen them, liked their looks and had them 
checked out. I sure hope it leads to a good deal for the boys, but just 
being approached about it is a terrific honor for them! Anyway, he's 
rational. He's got an opportunity to make good money, travel a lot, 
meet interesting people, and make contacts with folks who can help him 
in his art career later on. Pretty good deal when you're 19. :-)

John Culp
Bristol, Tennessee, USA