Savior Tony

I saw a small army move my new roommate in but I really didn't get a chance to talk to him until they all left. He was standing by my bed. He was tall, black and he had long dreadlocks. Of these the most unusual statement was that he was standing and standing tall and straight and strong which is very unusual for a rehabilitation ward.

He began to talk and for the most part I merely sat there and played psychiatrist asking questions and listening to his story. It seems that a couple of weeks ago his heart stopped for over twenty minutes before they were able revive him. He says he is very lucky to be in the right place at the right time where there were people who could help him. I asked about drugs which would be an obvious cause for cardiac arrest but he denied using drugs.

He says his name is Savior Tony. The last part was given by his parents and the first part he chose , presumably after a religious conversion. He said he wanted his name to be that of someone he really admired.

Tony says that he has done many things that are wrong and many things that are violent. He has been in prison but says he does not remember why he was sent there.

You cannot have your heart stop for twenty minutes without suffering many losses. Tony was an excellent chess player and has set up a clinic to teach chess to the local youth. Now he is not even sure he can remember the moves on a chess board.

 

Tony is from New York and has spent most of his life living in Harlem. He has become a appalled at the way Harlem is being gentrified and the blacks who have lived there all their lives are being forced out. Recently he came to Seattle flight the same gentrification in the central district.