“And it was so fucking hilarious because he would throw crap over the fence and she’d consider it quality man, this dude did not give a fuck,” said Rob, as we all laughed.
We did laugh over a few drinks and it was hilarious. Rob told us a story about how he used to be at a job in sales where his manager, a grumpy middle aged Italian woman, played favorites like none other. Rob, a black guy, would always be in trouble no matter what kind of work he did. Then, some white guy named Steve who looked like Ryan Gosling would do garbage work and get praise.
“But yo, I tell you this, one thing Mr. Feinstein caught on to her shit. Now Mr. Feinstein was not having any of it and his ass knew that she was playing favorites. Pretty soon, she got let go and they brought in a blunt sista to deal with what was going on. It was funny seeing Steve getting roasted yo!” said Rob, as we all bust out laughing.
Something about Rob’s delivery and the way he told his stories always had us busting with laughter. As a black guy in his 30s, Rob had lived through some serious shit, originally being from Alabama. At some point, Rob had a miserable time in his life at a company he worked at. His manager, a grumpy middle aged Italian woman, had it out for him and the Asian guy at work. As usual, for anyone who has been around a lot of Italian American women, they are not too fond of men of color to say the least.
“But man, I tell yall, it feels good homie. I learned that no matter how tough it gets, one day you’re gonna be right here telling a funnyass story over some drinks when you survive that shit,” said Rob.
So that hit me.
Rob has lived a rough rough life as a black guy from Alabama who grew up in a single parent home. We became friends because despite all of what happened to him, he managed to just laugh it all off and make a funny story out of it. Whenever I’ve had drinks with my friends, we laugh about the dumb and rough moments of our lives, how silly they were. A common theme that comes up is how poorly we were treated and then comically, how easy others had it in that situation.
As I went through a rough patch in 2020, especially at work where I faced a situation very similar to Rob’s, I thought of this conversation. If I survive whatever it is I need to survive, at some point, I am going to have a funny fucking story to tell. At some point, my struggle may as well come with a comedic twist to it.
Probably not the most helpful to someone going through a rough patch in life. I say hang in there but realize that at some point, you’re gonna have a hell of a story to tell over some drinks.
