The Promise of Paris

I met Paris, a young African-America boy of fifteen, several years ago as part of our Sunday brunch group in Little Rock. At that time, he was being mentored by the leader of our group, Robert. Evidently, Robert had taken on the academic challenge of Paris when the boy was a mere fifth grader. Paris was still in middle school at the time we met. Though generally quiet during our brunches, I have witnessed Paris' maturing into a seemingly fine young man.

Yes, there have been wishes and dreams that have gone astray like Paris' (and Robert's) desire to complete his high school education. He dropped out without completing his goal, got a job at several fast food restaurants and as a bag boy at Kroger. For some reason, he has not been able to hold a job for long. He was fired from the last position for losing his temper and "spouting off" to his supervisor. He is now in a vocational school trying to get a G.E.D.

Paris has all the usual dreams of a boy his age, namely a car, a girlfriend, an apartment, and a job. He has none of those. Sunday at lunch he told us about one of his friends being killed last week here in Little Rock by the police. His friend was now "in Paradise" he said. He was wearing all black that day, had bling on, and had now grown a goatee and a mustache. Our group of friends worry about him since the unemployment rate for young boys of color is so high in our city and the temptation for material goods is strong. We old folks at the table all warn him that we don't want him to become a statistic. We believe in him. We will continue to hope and pray for him. He has promise.