Op Ed
20 Questions
Let’s play a game. Since I’m new to OTM, this is an opportunity for us to get to know one another better. You’re going to be reading a whole lot of crazy shit from me in the coming months, we should at least have some small talk before getting intimate, no? Yes. We should.
The game is 20 questions. I’ll ask the questions. I’ll answer the questions. You’ll read and enjoy. Simple, right? Okay. Let’s begin.
- Who makes the best slice of pizza? – L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst. I like my pizza from the source. The mob whacked the owner of this place last year. That’s as close to the source as I need to be. The slices are divine though, and a large pie is $15.
Who’s in your Top 5? – For some reason this is an important question in the Black community. Fights have started, men have been humbled and women have chosen their baby daddys as a result of the answer to this question. It is an important inquiry, it speaks to a deeper and more poignant question, and that question is who are you? Here is my Top 5: 1) Tupac 2) Nas 3) Jay-Z 4) Biggie Smalls 5) Run. There. Now, you know who I am.
- Who do you have in the upcoming fight? Soulja Boy or Chris Brown? – I like the idea of two celebrities lacing the gloves up to box one another. I like it from a consumer standpoint, but I like it even more from a business standpoint. These two, I think they can get 10,000 people to buy a ticket to watch the fight. There is money in this idea. That being said, I don’t believe that there is anything that Soulja Boy can do better than Chris Brown. I used to have this kid in my neighborhood, kinda resembled Soulja Boy. He’d give me money whenever he chilled with me. I realized after some time that he was paying me to hang with him. I was cool with that. He wasn’t really real. He was only around because he paid to be. And that’s Soulja Boy. He isn’t real. He only shouts Blood because he pays to be able to. Maybe Chris does too, but if he doesn’t knock this fool out in the first round, then he isn’t the man I think he is. Pause.
- Best Mexican Food? – Lauriol Plaza in DC. I’ll share with you a secret that one of their staff shared with me. They add salt to their sour cream. It wakes the flavor up and also slightly thickens the cream. Keep that on the low.
Play the Fuck, Marry, Kill game using Janelle Monae, Serena Williams, and Rhianna. – That’s easy. I’d fuck Serena. World class athlete with a world class backside. I’d just need 2 ginseng root, 1 cup of Woodroot Tonic and a 20oz Red Bull pre-game. I’d marry Janelle Monae. Seeing her in Hidden Figures with her bare feet on the dashboard did something to me. I really think I love her. And I’d kill Rhianna. Only because I don’t want her as bad as I want Serena, and I damn sure ain’t marrying her. Though she’s probably the hardest to kill. I’m positive she’s shot a gun before, and probably has more goons on the team than I do. (If she has one goon, that’s one more than I have.)
- What did you want to be when you were a kid? – Who wrote this question? My therapist?? To be honest, I don’t think I wanted to be anything when I was a kid. There were things that I wanted to do. Three things, in particular. I wanted to visit Hawaii. I wanted to write a book. And I wanted to run a full marathon. That’s basically it. Ambitious child, eh? I published my first novel in 2009, and I visited the Hawaiian Islands last year. When I run the NYC marathon this November, I will have officially done all that I ever wanted to do. Oh, what freedom it is to be done with your life goals before you turn 42.
- What is your favorite movie? – My favorite movie… That’s difficult because I have two favorites. The first is Putney Swope (1969). It’s a dark comedy written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. you know, Iron Man’s pops. The second is The Harder They Come (1973) starring iconic ska and reggae musician Jimmy Cliff. I’ve seen both movies so many times that I know every line by heart. In fact, I often use dialogue from these movies in my real life conversations. If we’ve known each other for at least a year, I’m sure I’ve used dialogue from one of these movies in a conversation.
- What is your favorite album? – This question isn’t easy at all. How do you choose a favorite album? The word favorite denotes opinion based on taste, and my taste in music changes with my mood, much more often than my taste in movies or books. Right now though, my favorite album is It Was Written by Nas. I just think that from beginning to end this album is a well thought out composition. Everything fits, the track sequence, the production, the lyrics. I would definitely bring it up in a conversation about the best Hip Hop album ever. Ask me tomorrow though and I’ll probably say something totally different.
- Giants or Jets? – Jet Life
- Knicks or Nets? – Knicks. But, I will go to Barclays to watch the Nets play because the stadium is in my neighborhood and that all-access ticket means all the food you can eat for the whole game.
- Yankees or Mets? – Baseball isn’t like Football or Basketball. You don’t have to choose.
- Best place to get a hero? – Farmer in the Deli, on Myrtle Avenue. They been the best since the late 80’s. No place else does it even close to the way they do it. If you go, bring your appetite.
- Favorite NYC Party Promoters – There are literally hundreds of promoters in NYC. Some janky, some on the level. In my line of work I’ve had the pleasure to work with many of them, so my experience kinda makes my opinion valid. It also makes my opinion kinda biased, but isn’t every answer a person gives based on their personal biases? Of course. MTA Rocky and MTA Sha. Love these brothers. Every club they touch wins. Good brothers, awesome party promoters. These two work hard to ensure that every event they put their name on is quality. I heard they may be retiring soon, so check for them while you can.
- Do you believe in aliens? – Only the illegal ones.
Favorite Brooklyn Tavern? – My favorite place to go for an Angry Orchard (I only drink the strong stuff) is Rustik Tavern, located at 471 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. Why? The staff is excellent. The sirloin steak is the best outside of your traditional steakhouses. The owner is one of the coolest brothers in the city, and I can always count on my little sister being there, vodka gimlet and a salad in front of her, some unsuspecting guy sitting next to her not knowing that he’s in the spider’s web. Poor guy, one wrong comment and he’s never making it out of here alive.
- If you could offer wisdom to the youth, using one sentence only, what would you say? – I’d say don’t spend so much time listening to the wisdom of others, instead find your own.
- What are your thoughts on Trump? – Only a true New York hustler could come up on the most important job in the world without any qualifications at all. That up-top game is strong. Got white chicks that know he ain’t shit voting for him because he said fucking with him is going to be huge. Huge. Yeah… America as we knew it is gone.
- If you could be any animal, what animal would you’d be? – I’d be a Gray Wolf. Liberty to wolves means death to the lamb.
- What is your favorite smell in the whole world? – The well maintained soles of a Black woman. Don’t judge me.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
