For Don

God sends us angels in all forms, they appear when we need them the most. 

Tonight I met Don, he's a born and bred Detroiter.

When he approached me on the street while walking to my apartment he was a bit agitated and slightly confrontational.

He wanted to know why I felt as a white woman I felt safe walking down the streets of downtown Detroit at 11pm.  His exact words were, "did they tell you all the niggers were gone now?" 

I could smell booze on Don, and being a 15 year New Yorker I know the best thing to do is try to be polite and move on as quickly as possible. 

Don and I ended up speaking on the street for sometime.  I learned about his family, his daughters who are nurses, his grandchildren, that he has four brothers and a drinking problem. 

We discussed the issues that face the city of Detroit.  Transportation being one of his biggest concerns, as his daughters get off of work late at night and the buses stop running here after 11pm.

We talked about corruption in local government, the lack of schools for his grandchildren to attend.

Don and I had more in common than I could have imagined, we both pray daily and have deep faith that change will come to the city. 

He called me his angel and said god sent me to him this evening to calm him down.

But what Don didn't know is that I needed him too.  A sense of community, no matter where we come from or what's going on in our own world, sometimes we need that angel to just listen and be there for each other.  Sometimes we just need a hug.

Don was a guitar player and sang me an Earth Wind & Fire song that he felt I needed to hear, he was right I did need to hear it.  He told me to pick up my guitar again, I had a song in me that needed to be written.

We hugged and thanked god for the moment that brought us together.

As promised, I listened to Earth Wind & Fire's "Keep Your Head To The Sky" and "Devotion"  He said these songs were written for people like us.

Thank you Don for stopping me on the street, for the hug, for showing me that a stranger out of the blue can remind you what life is really about, being of service, being here for other people.

We all need people.  We don't have to be alone in this world, even when things seem hopeless, god will send an angel to give you that reminder. 

This one is for Don, for me and for you.