Hope?

[janradder]

As I drove into the parking lot of Target this morning, I saw a young African American kid walking in the middle of the street. His pants hung down at his knees, cinched tight by a belt so they wouldn't fall all the way down as he walked to an Arby's. He was coming from an alternative high school in the Target strip mall. It's for kids who have been kicked out of every other school in the city. He wore gold chains around his neck and a crooked baseball cap and, as I drove down the street towards him, he glared at me and made no movement to get out of the way of the car. Stuck to his shirt, up on the left side of his chest so everyone could see, was a red sticker that said, "I voted." As I passed him, I couldn't help but smile.