JUST ANOTHER DAY

by Michael Douglas Carlin 

Just another day. Gary Reynolds, nick-named "Nugget," pulls up to the local grocery store to buy a few things to take home to the wife and kids. He doesn't think much about the fifteen rival gang members hanging out in front of the store. After all, peace had just been negotiated. This store is part of the fabric of the neighborhood. Nugget emerged from the store with a couple of bags of groceries. He got the groceries stowed safely in the back seat. Then he opened the driver's door of his Buick. He heard a familiar sound. When he looked up he knew he was in trouble.

Nugget was known in his neighborhood. He was always a leader. At a very young age, Nugget had formed "The Junior War Lords." They began stealing bubble gum and soda, but the pattern is that these petty crimes often escalate to robberies, murder and retribution.

A gangbanger was standing with an assault rifle and must have been here for retribution. Standing there, Nugget knew that his death would most assuredly be avenged. You would think that this knowledge would be comforting to Nugget, but so many things had recently changed. He felt like there was so much more to do, yet a single bullet would end it all. There was a pause, a hesitation. Neighborhood kids came around the corner and grasped what was about to happen. They were used to this sort of thing in their neighborhood. They ran off shouting: "They killed Nugget, they killed Nugget."

At eight years old, Nugget had become fascinated with the gangster life style. He watched the Hollywood glorification of the underworld. His favorite television show was The Untouchables. He saw Meyer Lansky's gangersterism glorified as he rose to become a millionaire by applying the principles of that gangersterism.

Most of all, what resonated with young Nugget was the respect of others that being a gangster commanded. Gangsters were shown to their table in a popular club, while others waited in line. They were given fruit on the street from vendors, they were greeted everywhere with respect. Nugget joined the Raymond Avenue Crips, becoming a full-fledged gang member. He continued to read every book about gangsterism and collected television shows and movies. Much of what this gang learned came from what Nugget researched, and he became a leader to be feared or to be silenced.

The bullets began to fly. Nugget had accepted his fate and made no attempt to take cover. News began spreading throughout the neighborhood. This was a small town trapped in a forgotten part of the big city. The hub in this neighborhood has always been Helen Keller Park. The park had become notorious as a killing zone. A gang member might be killed there in the early evening, but even the police were afraid to enter the park at night and would simply leave the body until morning to begin their investigation. Those investigations were merely paperwork for the files. A dead man in South Central was never treated like a dead man in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica.

A hit, which this undoubtedly was, necessitated success. This assassin wasn't a kid. This was a hardened criminal, recently paroled, who knew how to use a weapon. The hesitation was the only moment of respect that would be given. The chamber was loaded with a click and the bullets began to fly. The trigger was squeezed and casings began to fly. Each crack sent another casing airborne. Then one by one they began to hit the ground. Flames coming out of the barrel of the rifle seemed continuous. That thundering rat, tat, tat that every gangster television show was known for was playing out on a street in South Central Los Angeles. This time the bullets were lead and cutting through the Cutlass Buick. When the thundering gunshots ended, the silence gave way to the casings landing and bouncing on the concrete. Twenty-seven casings lay strewn all about the scene.

At age eleven, Nugget was in the neighborhood when a car loaded with his friends pulled up. The stolen car had already committed half a dozen robberies and other crimes when Nugget climbed in expecting a joy ride. Instead what he got was an arrest a few miles later that resulted in a seven-month legal battle. A postal worker saved Nugget's life when he told the jury that Nugget wasn't the kid that committed the crime. But seven months in the Youth Authority turned Nugget into a General Patton, a Luciano, a Lansky, a Scarface. Then, Nugget employed his knowledge about gangsterism to charge shopkeepers for protection. From there, he entered the drug trade, which was the hottest thing to hit America. Nugget was out of control. He was picked up on an old homicide charge, but, after a stint, it became obvious that there wasn't enough evidence to get a conviction, so he was released. The life of crime continued, and it wasn't long before he faced new charges that resulted in a conviction.

Prison meant new connections and education about becoming a better criminal. Upon his release from prison, Nugget met a woman who would change everything. He was always too busy being a gangster to settle down with any woman who would fly right and left at a man with that type of power. When Shonda became the apple of Nugget's eye, he attempted to kidnap her. Problem was, she wasn't havin' it. Never before had he met a woman whom he wanted but couldn't have. That made him want her all the more. When she asked him if he was a gangster, he lied and told her that he had nothing to do with the gangs. Then, one day she saw a dufflebag filled with assault rifles. She said, "I thought you weren't into gangs." He came clean, but it was too late for her, as she was already in love with Nugget.

The kids were running through the neighborhood shouting that Nugget had been killed. Anyone listening that night heard the gunshots. As in all neighborhoods, people were coming out of their homes to see what was happening. News about Nugget was something that spread like wildfire. He had always been someone that the neighborhood looked up to, as well as being the man that many looked to for protection. Sirens filled the night air alerting the neighborhood that something was amiss in their world. News travels fast in a tight knit community. Police cruisers were traveling toward the sound of the gunshots with their lights ablaze.

Nugget had gone back to prison. Upon his release, he was hired to his first honest job in telecommunications. On the side, he was still involved in the gangs, and the duffle bags filled with guns were still around. This time, something was different. His relationship with Shonda was bringing him to a new place in life, where he wanted something more. At church, he complained that no one was preaching the real sermon. He was called out to leave his life of being the Beast and become submissive to God. He became a coach of a baseball team that was comprised of all of the bad seeds – the kids the other teams didn't want because they were trouble. The Helen Keller Oriel's first practice was an all-out brawl. Nugget recalled that it as just like the Bad News Bears.

Malcolm was on that first team and he remembers it well: "Nugget was so well respected in the neighborhood that we all listened to him. He was able to give us the discipline that we needed. We came together as a team." The first three games were lost, but this team gelled and never lost again. They swept through every team that had labeled them as "bad seeds." Each win brought the taste of retribution without any bloodshed. The kids were learning the benefits of peace, and Nugget was there to teach them the new way.

Several seasons later came the true test. Taco came to practice without his cleats. Nugget asked him why he had come to practice without his gear. Taco said, "I got my gear in the car." Nugget responded: "Well, go and get it and come back here ready to play." Taco went off to the car, but, before he could get his cleats and other gear, a 2000 Impala came up with the windows rolled down. Shots rang out, and Taco lay dead in the street. Nugget felt as if he had sent Taco to his death. He was mad… real mad. Every fiber of gangster rose up within Nugget that day, and he began assembling the retribution crew. Shonda knew her husband was up to something, because the duffle bags with the rifles came out again. War had been sparked, and the entire crew wanted to avenge the death of Taco by shedding blood.

Shonda put her foot down. "There will be no more killing. That ain't gonna solve it. Nugget! You are the only man that can bring peace–they respect you–they will listen to you."

"Peace? Nobody wants peace. War is what we all want."

"You always say you are a leader, so show it now. Make peace. Do it for me and your babies. Taco won't be coming back to the park no matter what, but you can save other kids' lives by choosing peace."

Nugget made the choice for peace. He got on the airwaves and pled for peace.

Fox News and various radio stations carried his appeal for peace. Nugget, backed by his wife, was able to broker peace. Another drive-by shooting happened as bullets flew at Taco's house, but the peace held. Four weeks later, Nugget found himself standing in the parking lot of the local grocery store with glass all around him. Twenty-seven bullet casings lay on the ground, milk was pouring out in the backseat of his car from a bullet-hole, but not a single round had touched him. The community heard the shots, but the early rumor of his death was in error. Nugget was very much alive.

What began as a truce between two rival gangs with a thirty-year history of violence affected thirty-eight gangs that signed on to the peace. Bloods and Crips walk freely in the neighborhood, an act that would have meant certain death just a few years ago. Now, they play sports together and take out their differences on the baseball field, basketball court, or football field. To date, thousands of lives have been saved. Nugget asks his kids if they want to make $145 a day selling crack, $80 a day working at McDonalds or $.13 a day in Federal Prison. He wants kids to see a job in fast food as a real opportunity, where they can work while obtaining their education.

Malcolm says: "This is a catalyst for something bigger. Helen Keller was known for overcoming obstacles. Helen Keller Park is where the inner cities began overcoming our obstacles." Nugget now runs CURE. You can help him bring peace to other neighborhoods within the inner cities by helping him to give the gift of sports to other kids. They need uniforms, equipment and transportation to keep the programs going.

Donate your time or money now to help keep the peace.

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© 2014 Michael Douglas Carlin. All Rights Reserved.