Lunch Break: How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?

On Monday, I was at the scene of a shooting. The police hadn’t confirmed it, but all the neighbors and family members of the man who had been shot said the man, 41-year-old Ricardo Reese, was dead. One woman said his first child just turned 1 three weeks ago.

As the afternoon dragged on, more and more people came outside of their homes just standing around, some curious, others concerned and a few were grieving. Even more gathered as people came home from work and children were dropped off by their school buses.

A group of four young men, who looked to be about 18 or 19, told me they wanted to be on the news because they were a rap group and wanted to get discovered and signed to a label.

As I stood there, shooting video, snapping photos and interviewing people, the group of young men joked and laughed and danced. I was extremely perturbed by their behavior, I have to be honest.

I don’t have the greatest poker face, so I’m sure what I was thinking was all over my face.

One of the guys looked over at me and said, “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Someone just got shot,” I replied.

“I know, ma’am, we’re just trying to make the best out of things,” he said.

I thought to myself that if someone had been shot in my apartment complex, I would start making plans to move.

But what if you can’t up and move?

One woman with clear tubes in her nose to help with her breathing told me she was not surprised about the shooting, and that she hears gunshots all the time.

I realized that these young men had to make the best out of this situation because they knew they would still be there when the news cameras left, when the detectives finished their interviews and dusting for prints, when the reporters like me went back to write up the breaking news alert. These young men knew that this “crime scene” was still their home when for the rest of the strangers who descended there, it was a scene wrapped with yellow “caution” tape.

I remained there for three hours, and at one point chatted with the young men more.

For them, rapping was their dream. It was going to help them get out. They told me that they planned to write a song and dedicate it to the man who had been shot.

As I woke up this morning, I couldn’t help but think that the young men’s laughter was just a way to keep from crying, to keep moving despite the circumstances, and I had to realize how blessed they were to have each other.

I realized that many people don’t know their neighbors at all.

So, I guess today’s conversation starter question is, How often do you take time to really see the people in your own community? How well do you know your neighbors?