Few things to talk today about certain things.
Hassan was cremated and buried today in Alexandria, Virginia. He shall be missed by many, both hearing and Deaf. I wish I am with Toby right now but I'm sure that he is with good friends right now. I repeated (actually demanded) the offer that he comes to Manhattan to take a timeout from everything in few weeks to recuperate and go from there. He said he will take up on my offer.
About Hassan, he is hearing Egyptian who was raised in The Bronx and moved to DC. Met Toby and was with him for nearly a decade until his death. I cannot count how many good, bizarre and bad memories between me and Hassan and others. But I'd like to tell a story -- a definitely bizarre story that Hassan stared at me and shrugged when I said, "That is unfair."
Few years ago, I was waiting for Toby to page me to get together on that particular day. He never paged me. I became concerned. Then later in the evening, I gave up and strolled down to his apartment by H Street and 10th Street NE in DC. When I arrived, I noticed that the door was bit fucked up. I knocked on the door. Toby opened the door and said, "What?"
It was evident that he was upset. I asked him why we did not get in touch. He lets me in and I was shocked to see his living room, dining room and bedroom. It was as if a tornado came in and messed everything up. I asked him what's going on? Hassan was sitting in a couch and staring at me with his dull eyes. Toby said, "DC Police had a search warrant for one of my old roommates, they came in and exploded the place and took my fucking computer away!" His bed were turned over, his drawers were tossed on the bed. His clothes in the closet were pulled out and scattered everywhere. The furnitures were moved and turned over.
Shortly, the police officers were looking for one guy named William whom Hassan and Toby kicked out of an apartment about a month earlier because he was not paying rent for some months.
Even if they pleaded with the cops that William do not live here, the cops did not care. They just ransacked the place and broke the door in order to get in -- initially, Toby said he was upstairs with Hassan, Derrick and Mikey were downstairs in the living room, sleeping on the couch. It was 5 or 6 AM in the morning, Derrick and Mikey were startled to feel a jolt on the door. They feared the robbery or something. They ran towards the staircase and saw the folks breaking down the door and chasing up the stairs, they freaked out and ran into Hassan's bedroom -- suddenly the cops threw these guys on the floor and handcuffed them all -- denying Mikey, Derrick and Toby from even talking in ASL (they are all Deaf!), Hassan is hearing and he yelled at them that they are deaf. The cops ignored them and they ransacked the apartment. It was such a horrible incident. For months, Toby could not retrieve his computer back. Finally, he got it like a year later.
I was angry with the outcome -- I stared at Hassan, "but it is not fair." Hassan shrugged and said, "I know. Life is not fair. But guess what? We had chickens today, you want some?" I gagged and laughed a little. That is Hassan. Always moving ahead even if horrible things happened.
Rest in peace and dance your motherfucka ass off, Hassan!
Here is a note to the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department: FUCK YOU!!!!
R-
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