GOOD TIMES

"I LIKE GOOD TIMES!!"...*lol*


I remember when I lived in a Chicago Housing project. I was actually born and breed in the "jects". I can definitely relate to Good Times. Its not an actual portrayal, though its mad funny. I've never lived in the high rise projects, such as the family in Good Times but I did live in the row townhouse and apartment-style projects.



When I was a baby, the millions of roaches and super-sized rats roamed our house. Our room (my parents and baby Nsanelee's) was the cleanest room in the house, habitated by my mother's large family, minus a father. The roaches and rats used to try to make their way into my crib, seduced by the smell of baby formula and evaporated milk. Luckily it was a bit more controlled, because my father exterminated and we owned a cat.

From the time I could remember the jects, I was about 5. I remember roaches, a few mice, and a couple of gansta ass rats, that would harass us outside of our home. (Joe, I almost got robbed by a rat...*lol*) Although I remember "GOOD TIMES" I tend to dwell on and remember the bad times. The times when, my life, my livelihood, my family, were jeopardized. City Housing Project living is sub-human, cruel and inhumane. Its sickening to see people allowing this type of living.

BAD TIMES

The roaches were terrifying in itself. They came swoll. They swarmed us and after my dad exterminating, they laid dead in every place imaginable. To this day, I can't live or kick it at houses with roaches the sight of them makes me wanna "earl".

The rats were so gangsta, they would try to bogard they way into our crib, they weren't no back down ass rats. Bleach got they ass running though...

The deck going up at any time. There was no set time to the violence and madness. The shootouts, the gang fights, the beatdowns, by neighborhood ruffians and "Chicago's Finest"(the Chicago Police). Its not a good feeling having to look over your shoulder just trying to live peacefully in your home. Luckily, I was sheltered for the most part, but I was also a latchkey kid, being that both my parents worked full time jobs.

The confined living quarters. Its scientifically-experimented and proven that too many rats in one place, struggling for survival are only going to battle and have stress. Luckily for my family, we only had 4 people in our shoebox apartment, but there were some, most families consisting of 8 or more people. Sheesh, and this is prior to the new law which requires male and female siblings to have separate rooms. (Intentional physiological destruction of a people.)

Neighborhood school. I hated the fact that we had to get bussed to a quality school. I missed the bus a few times and on one occasion, I had to go to the neighborhood school. It was so disorderly. The pupils were unfazed by the instructors and the grade level work was at least 2 grade levels behind. I vowed never to miss the bus after that, although I loved the fact that I had plenty of time to sleep, once I completed the lesson plan. (I was sleepy, thats why I missed the bus in the first place...

New Years Eve. These jokers would start shooting as soon as, or as, the sun set. Its like 7 o'clock. And these niggas ain't have no 22's or 32's. They had heavy artillery, government issued semi, automatic, assault weapons and bombs. It sounded like I was in Iraq. They would be at it all night and day, they didn't stop shooting til 8am the next morning, January 1st. I

THE GOOD TIMES

The entertainment. Late nights I would wake up to the melodious sounds of drunken winos, singing love songs, the classic, old school shit. I would peep out at them through my window, returning to bed, falling asleep of their harmonious renditions of my old school favorites. They sung those songs with so much feeling, they was hurting. They were tight with theirs, but fell victim to the deliberate destruction of a people. The little neighborhood fast tail girls, whose mothers were either in the streets or strung out, popping they asses, making up dance routines. I thank them little skanks (that was bogus to say, but that's just how I talk...*lol*) because before I saw them, I had no concept of rhythm and dance. Call me ofay...*lol*

The times my parents watched me fight through the window. There were several fights my parents observed and a few they didn't see. But it was such a great feeling to know after I fought and went in the house, my parents were there proud, giving me a blow by blow account of the fight, telling me they were proud that I stood my ground and ain't punk out. Most of my fights were with little freak nasty little boys trying to get they feels on.

The fact they we were "HOOD RICH", an oxymoron. We had 2 new current year cars, all the clothes(minus the new Jordan's cause they was killing fools over those), food, and toys. We lived better in comparison to others. We had less roaches, new furniture, and clean living quarters. We had exactly what we needed and some of what we wanted.

Moving out. It was a happy day for me on my 11th birthday to move. I was glad to be "moving on up", I didn't move too far up, at least there were no roaches or rats. We moved 2 blocks from some high-rise projects. So it was still grimy, but we lived better.

GOOD TIMES MY ASS

Imagine if while you were watching GOOD TIMES, Thelma is preparing a meal and she steadily keeps stomping on roaches, trying to keep them from contaminating the food....

Then a roach crawls up her pantleg.....*lol*

Or Florida is talking to James and a rat runs across the screen and now their attention is diverted to killing that fat rat.....

Or Micheal coming in, out of breathe, terrified because they was busting(shooting) outside, as he was coming home from school.....

Or JJ getting a pumpkin head""pumpkin head" while he was coming home....

Or Thelma getting sexually-harassed by the "thugs" on her way home...

Or just all the Bad Time stories I told, times 50, cause in a high rise the violence is mutliplied because of the people stacked on top of one another, living like slaves on a boat to America.

Is it accurate to call this show GOOD TIMES?

I don't regret living in the "jects", it helped shape the person I am today, however, I don't think that any human should have to live like this.