Listening Post #1

My initial listening post was a diner in Liberty City called MLK Diner/Restaurant.

When I went to the Martin Luther King parade a couple of weeks back, I was in the car my with classmates and we drove down Martin Luther King Blvd and saw a huge amount of listening post possibilities. The streets were packed with people, though, so everything really seemed like a hangout spot. It was one giant block party with apartment buildings vibrating and shaking from the walls of speakers laid out across the complex lawns. People walking all over the place in groups, leaning against the walls of the random meat markets and cornerstores scattered throughout MLK blvd.

I spotted MLK Diner on MLK blvd and 27th Ave, and it seemed pretty quaint and old. Looked like it had a lot of history and regulars. It was perfect. I also passed by a cornerstore that had a lot of people walking in and out of it. Again, it was MLK day so it could've been just a special day with lots of rushes.

So I chose a day in the week where my schedule allowed me to go to MLK Diner. I chose Tuesday before class at 11:30 a.m. I drove to Liberty City and I'm already a little scared. Really scared actually. I had been the there days before but that was different. It was a parade and people had different attitudes. This was a Tuesday morning where people came out to eat and such. Only thing I was looking forward to was eating some food because I was hungry.

I parked in the parking lot and I'm so scared. My main worry is having my car broken into. I don't know why this is in the back of my mind. But it is.

I walk inside and there's really nobody in there. I saw some people in the tables. Two men were having their breakfast at one table and there was an old man sitting at another table reading the paper and drinking coffee. I was terrified. It didn't really seem like a hangout, honestly. People just minding their own business. How do I initiate a hangout with random strangers at a restaurant?

I started putting myself in their position and played the scenario in my head. I'd feel uncomfortable with someone coming up to my table.

I walked out. I went back to my car and drove out. I didn't really think this was a hangout. Maybe it was just a slow time of the day?

I drove to the market a couple of streets down to check out if it was a hangout. I parked my car and over yonder are a group of Black men just hanging around. I get out of my car and walk into the market. Nobody really hanging out. I think I'm gonna have to walk over to that group.

But I was just too scared to do it.

I'm going to check out MLK Diner at a later hour and see how it checks out. It could be more a hangout at a later or more early time.