Ever since I saw the movie adaptation to "Devil In a Blue Dress", there has been an icon in my heart for this chracter from Walter Mosely's Easy Rawlins series. Especially after how he was expertly portrayed by Don Cheadle in the movie. Seeing the movie recently also got me thinking about the people that I consider to be a friend.
An oldhead once said "Its good to use people, but its not good to misuse them!". Not everybody in ya life should be "full-service" in order for you to fulfill your needs. Nobody is going to be that "all-in-one", that everything, for you. "To err is to be human..." and with that in mind, one would have to reasonably expect that our friends are going to have their faults and make mistakes. All things being equal, we are all equally fucked-up in one way or another. So on top of that, our friends probably accept our shortcomings and well.
As a friend, you don't hold it against them. You accept it! Ideally it is a part of what makes them who they are and it helps make the friendship stronger if the parties involved compliment the other by strengthening these character traits.
The main point however is that we all have those friends and individuals that we can rely on for special needs that we may or may not be able to compensate for. For when a specific problem arises, one may have to dig into the reserves and utilize our resources to handle that particular instance by reaching out to that one individual. You're not going to use the same knife to cut ya steak, tighten up a loose bolt or bring it to a gunfight....
Such a move is usually announced as "I got people that know how to handle that!"
One of these people is "The Do-Dirt Nigga" who, as the title insinuates, has some dirt on their hands. If they have done enough, the mention of their name instantly conjures up shady business. That, or a quick tale or two that highlights what may soon be coming this way: TROUBLE! No good will come from involving them. Things involving them have been achieved through nefarious means or insult and injury. Its not that they are inherently evil, its just that without good, moral people in their world, they would have been caught along time ago.
Such was the case with Mouse. He was mean but charming. He knew how to handle a gun and did not take any prisoners. When Easy finally realized what he was up against in the movie, he knew who to call and how to manage things once Mouse arrived. Although Easy didn't keep Mouse around for the whole thing, Easy was able to get things done and out of the way due to having Mouse with him. This is how we manage our relationships with such friends. You don't swear allegiance but have an understanding as to the roles being played. Its not unconditional. There are conditions and stipulations to the relationships. As long as both parties stick to their side of the bargain, there may be more instances where this person will be reached out to.
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