Meeting Jim...

Yesterday, Alex and I went to Milwaukee to see a man about a band. We ended up sitting outside a little cafe having coffee and talking music with the guy. To our left, there was a man sitting there reading a book but after a time he got interested in our conversation and joined in. He was a music lover and had some cool input into the convo. Eventually, our discussion wandered from music to the neighborhood to politics to war and beyond. The man's name was Jim and here's what I learned from him.

1. The three worst places to be homeless in the US are New York City, the Tenderloin District of San Francisco and anywhere down South.

2. The current economic problems in the US are directly related to Ronald Reagan's "trickle down" theory. Once Reagan was in office, it all went to hell.

3. When you're 17 and in a juvenile prison facility, the prospect of getting out early is too great a temptation and you're not likely to think the offer of joining the military during the height of the Viet Nam War may not be a good idea after all. It could be the single most life altering decision you will ever make.

4. People who think the Holocaust was a hoax are assholes.

5. Being a New York City homicide detective is one of the hardest jobs in the world.

6. Sometimes organized crime is a good thing. Especially if the "mob" keeps local crime in check.

7. The neighborhood we were sitting in, River West, was once, as late as a few years ago, one of the worst crime ridden areas in Milwaukee. Today, drive by shootings are almost unheard of there.

8. The neighborhood of 25th and National was once riddled with drug dealers but the new Police Chief cleaned it up.

9. Rudy Giuliani's luckiest day was 9/11 because before that day no one could stand the guy. After that day, he was a hero.

10. Disney has no business taking over Times Square. That's what Florida is for.

Jim was well-read, intelligent, talkative, obviously fallen on hard times and on his way to an AA meeting. He was a gem. He made our trip to Milwaukee even more special than it would have been if we hadn't happened to go to that particular cafe on that particular evening.

Oh, and the band thing turned out to be pretty great too!