The relationship between street names and their cities.

This morning I was driving through Gentilly, which I've driven through like maybe 5 times total since I've lived here, and I was noticing the street names of some of the cross streets. Avoiding dishwasher-sized potholes (thanks Chris Rose!) slows one down enough to Notice Things. And my second thought, after noting that there were in fact street signs, was their names. Humanity. Benefit. Two streets that run *parallel* to one another. No, I'm not making this up. You really *can't* make this stuff up. Here? Really? In this city? Now? And...of course...before. Because the names don't change, no matter what.

And I thought, well, the Humanity one I can see. Because I can. Yes, this...*this*...this is some Humanity here, folks, let me tell you. It's *all* Humanity *all* the time...now, especially.

But Benefit? I don't know. I don't really see that so much. But then, again, they *are* running parallel...

For example, not five minutes before I had been standing in line at the Chevron at the corner of South Claiborne and Elysian Fields and like 7 people were in line to pay for whatever and the guy holding us all up? Well, he needed 5's and 1's. I mean, he *really* needed him some 5's and 1's, you know what I'm sayin'? And the attendant, enclosed in his glass case, "protected," was explaining that it was a Sunday, i.e., low on small bills, my brother, and hey, I've got a business to run, and hey, you see those people piling up in line behind you? Back and forth and back and forth. 5's and 1's and 5's and 1's. And finally the attendant relents and suddenly 3 people in front of me are gone. And by the time I'm forking over my money some 60+ year-old black woman in a seriously glittery pink top is trying to cut in two different lines at once saying, "I've got some place to *BE*!" And everyone that's been quietly stewing ignores her, waiting for their turn to Get The Hell Out of The Chevron At The Corner of South Claiborne and Elysian Fields. And finally I bounce out, so much later now, definitely I've missed getting in on the morning's first b-ball game.

And as I'm trotting to my car, a woman to the left of the door asks me for 2 quarters. Now, normally I would politely decline such requests and be on my way. Especially if I'm late to be somewhere. But something about the precision of the request...2 quarters...exactly 2 quarters. But it wasn't even that, really. Really what it was--what got me...what made me think twice--was that I had just paid for my gasoline with all of the change that my car contained, because I don't get paid until tomorrow and I was dangerously close to E and Gentilly is not a neighborhood in which I want to run out of gas, even on a bright, sunny, God-given Sunday morning. And I empty my pockets, literally, and say, "I *just* used all my change for gas." And she looks at me and I look at her. And I say, "Lemme look in my car, I bet I have two quarters somewhere." And I go to my car and even though I thought I'd gotten all possible change earlier, I find two quarters. And I come back and give them to her. And she says, "Thanks, baby." And I say, "No problem." And as I'm starting my car I actually think, bad as it sounds, "I wonder if those are going to the 5's and 1's guy." And as I round the backside of the Chevron, I see her on the pay phone. And I feel good. Really good.

I don't know, maybe Humanity and Benefit do run parallel. I mean, sometimes. Even here.