15 Scenarios of Why Growing Up in Philly Made Me Resilient

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I would post lighter content. Hope you find this entertaining.

My wife and I recently saw Sinbad the comedian in concert and my stomach was hurting because I was laughing so hard. Sinbad has been a fixture on the comedy scene since the 1980s. His comedic materials follows the path of Black comedians who are great storytellers: Bill Cosby, Bernie Mac, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, Mo’Nique, Sommore, etc. However, the difference between many of the people I mentioned and Sinbad is that he has kept his humor and language PG.

As a kid, there were four places I heard storytelling in my community: the barber shop, the corner/steps, events or on the basketball court. In the barbershop, I would sit quietly and listen to the older men complain about my generation and tell unbelievable stories. In the summer, adults often sat outside to watch their children and simply to be sociable. Ballin stories were usually about someone who was the G.O.A.T. of all time. Unfortunately, when we retold these stories we heard, we often got them wrong or added in other elements to make the story more interesting. (So many of the stories we told weren’t true simply because we wanted to be the hero! LOL)

One of the other reasons I like Sinbad is because he knows how to poke fun at himself. Some of the comedy today is dark, expletive laden cynical commentary about today’s society. Although I also enjoy this kind of comedy, it does not provide an esca

pe from today’s craziness. (You can judge me about this but be honest; its the main reason why people go to the movies. :P) Sinbad’s stories remind me of the fun and craziness of my childhood and the fact that I am still here. It also reminds me of the older men I listened to as a kid: a little bit crazy but street smart, Although Sinbad points out our stupidity, his comedy encourage us to rethink how we approach life in certain areas such as marriage, parenting, technology, relationships, etc. When I taught college classes, many of my students did not know that I would sometimes channel Sinbad’s style of being self effacing, pointing out absurdity hiding in plain sight and employing alter egos with strange voices. This often made the class occasionally entertaining.

My wife and I introduced our children to Sinbad’s comedy via YouTube a few years ago and they loved him. (We have made it a point to expose them to good 80s and 90s music and sitcoms/films. For example, my oldest daughter recently bought season 1 of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.) Many of the stories in Sinbad’s routines are familiar to them because they heard them from me. Sinbad consistently emphasizes the strength of those who grew up in the 70s and 80s. This was the era when there were no bike helmets, seat belts were optional and neighbors looked out for the children. Here are 15 things I did (before the age of 12) that should have either injured me or gotten me in serious trouble:

1. Throw buckets of water through the window of a public bus as it rode by.
2. Ride down a 45 degree hill very fast after it rained. (We fell and slid probably 12-15 feet on our backside. My pants were shredded and I had sores on my ????)
3. Get hit by a dart in the chest. (Its not as much fun as you think.)
4. Get tackled in the snow by your older brother who started running a half block away. (He claimed he was teaching me how to take a hit.)
5. Shoot a sky rocket through a huge funnel like a cannon at a person a half block away.
6. Sit in an abandoned car with my homies to stay warm in the middle of winter.
7. Break 7 windows on my block in one summer…accidently.
8. Light firecrackers in my friend’s back pocket.
9. Run from stray dogs in the alley.
10. Eat a whole bottle of sweet tasting aspirin. (When my mom found out, she bent me over the toilet, stuck her finger down my throat and…)
11. Build a go-cart and ride downhill with no brakes.
12. Walk 2 miles to my grandmom’s house with only shorts on. (I never walked there before.)
13. Outrun stray dogs who were chasing me.
14. Eat Ajax cleanser. (I liked the crystals in it)
15. Use a hot comb on my hair because I thought it would be easier to comb it.

If you ever seen the Little Rascals, that was my life. LOL What other stories would you add from your life?