The mind, it matters

©  2006  Rose George

A thought upon awaking at 6.30 am in the Four Seasons, apart from 'nice view, but it's raining,' and 'what was my brother doing in my dream with all that marmalade and margarine?' was a memory. I was living in Philadelphia. I lived in West Philly near the University, which at the time was the place where the university made sure you were scared of black people, except they called them “crime.” I cycled downtown to Center City to meet my friend Litty. I was doing nothing unusual beyond obeying traffic regulations. A young African-American girl said to me, 'Hey, lady, you want that bike?' I said, “er…yes.” She said, 'Oh, cos you keep stopping like you don't want it.” It's been 11 years and I still count that as one of the strangest things anyone has ever said to me.