D.G. - Gone Too Soon

Hello All,

It's early morning Thursday, October 6, 2011.* Yesterday evening while I stood at the kitchen sink washing a few dishes, cooking dinner listening to my iPod, not knowing then that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple had died, Michael Jackson's "Gone Too Soon" began to play. That truly beautiful, moving song is on a specific playlist that I listen to often and heard so many times over the years, but last night my thoughts went to a place they hadn't in some time.

While listening to "...like a comet, blazing across the evening sky, gone too soon..." I thought of D.G., a young guy I worked with back in 1999, at my second job at then First Union down on 5th & Market Streets in Philadelphia. I worked in the mail room, sorting mail. One night the power had gone out and Joe, our supervisor, said we could hang out until it came back on. Well it didn't take us long to get lost from the building but instead of just going downstairs out front, D.G., another guy and myself walked the few blocks down to Penn's Landing. I've been trying to recall the name of the other guy and still can't picture him, sorry other guy dude.

We went to the ice cream shop that used to be on the corner on Front & Chestnut Streets, got a cone each, then walked down to the water front and sat down. That's when I'd learned there was catfish in the Delaware River.  A man had a bag of bagels, breaking off pieces, throwing them over the railing, something big came up and ate it. I thought it was a rat at first but they can't breathe under water so I asked the man, he said catfish, who knew! Well, he did obviously...

All this time I'd had my "walk man", yes that's right, a cassette tape playing, AM/FM, radio having "walk man", that I would put on and groove to while sorting mail. I so miss the 80s & 90s. That night I was listening to a mix tape of songs and a few of Michael Jackson's came on.  At that point we were sitting in front of the water, D.G. and I shared my head phones and listened to a few songs. I knew a specific song was coming up next so I stopped the tape and made some other conversation. That song was "Gone Too Soon" that I purposely turned off because D.G. told me some time ago that his mother died so him hearing that song may trigger sadness, I didn't want him to feel down.  After that we made our way back to work and finished our shift.

I guess I should clarify that D.G. and I were not dating, we didn't have that kind of relationship, he did like me and that was sweet but he was a few years younger and I was crushin' hard on someone else. After a few months of working together, we found out that we lived within blocks of each other in West Philly. On the nights my sister would let me drive her car into work, if "D" was working, I would drive him home or we'd get the El together and walk from the 60th Street. He lived closer to the El so we'd reach his house first, then he'd say "get home safe" and we'd part ways.

One Saturday night I was driving so gave him a ride. He asked me to take him to a friend's house that was a few blocks from 60th & Baltimore Avenue.  He was going to see a girl, which was cute because he was really nice as well as a handsome.  I'd gotten all the way home when I realized that he left his t-shirts in a bag on the passenger side floor. So I immediately pulled off the the parking space, reluctantly because it was on my block and that was rare.  Drove back to the house I remembered him going into, knocked on the door, the young lady answered and he came down the steps.  I handed him the bag and he smiled so beautifully, as he often did, pleasantly said "thank you" and I again went home. 

Since that time I'd stopped working at First Union and the guy I was dating called me one morning to say that someone I worked with had been shot and killed. He said the name Michael, I worked with a Michael so I thought of him and was sad for his family.  I'd spoken to my man friend another time that day and he said he was wrong the name was something like Donte, Donnell Gregory, Greene, he wasn't certain and I was all kinds of confused. Still though, hearing about the murder of another young Black man, senseless as it is sad. 

Going about my day, I was in the kitchen and something hit me, just like came to me, I remember saying, "oh my God, no, no" as I rushed upstairs, skipping steps to get the cordless phone. I called Perry, who worked at First Union with us, and asked him if he'd heard again, was the initials D.G., was it Darnell. He said yes, I screamed!

Darnell Grant was such a nice young man. He was a hardworking, pleasant, respectful, I was so heartbroken. I wasn't around him always but when we stood a booth apart sorting mail and talking, his conversations were about being productive, not the foolishness of the streets. I didn't imagine almost hearing Micheal Jackson's song with him that night, would all too soon apply to him as well.  I went to his funeral and at this moment, I can picture clearly Darnell's face as the body that once moved about laid still in a casket.  I was afraid to go any closer than the back row of seats, all I could do is stare at his face for as long as I could take it then I said goodbye and left the church.


Sadly, Darnell isn't the first person I've known to be taken by gun violence. I've known others who barely got to see 25 years old, who have been murdered and another man who is in prison for life for being the murderer of one of those young men.  

*I'm posting this on Saturday evening because I hadn't completed typing. Just this morning on Facebook I learned that another young man I'd gone to elementary and high school with was killed. Then scrolling down the page a report from Chicago was that since last night, to early this morning 17 people were shot, 3 killed.

It has to stop!