It's been awhile since I've heard about Gabe, but the other day I received the latest installment. It hints that Gabe (aka, Gabeeeee, Mr. G, G-rawk) has relocated from San Francisco to Atlanta.
So goes the saga: during the summer of '05, I started receiving emails from random people, all addressed to Gabe, Mr. Gabis, G Money etc. None of it made any sense until one email explained the confusion--apparently Gabe's email address--for some unknown reason--is supsun@, one letter away from mine. A goodly number of his correspondents thought supsun was a weird choice and instead emailed me, explaining that "supson made more sense knowing u and ur gangsta talk." Sweet! I'm gangsta talk. Over the course of the emails I figured out that he was from Bozeman, Montana, that while there he had worked in a restaurant called O'Briens on Main Street, and that he was probably some sort of troubled youth who had been involved in the Big Sky Youth Empowerment Project, an outdoorsy program for underprivileged kids. He probably aged out of that program, and at some point he decided to up and move to San Francisco. That's when I started receiving his mail. I guess not too long after he got there--a month or so--he found himself in trouble.
That was all I heard--until now! In typical Gabe-friend style, the details trickle in.
Selected quotes:
"Gabe,
yo i got your last two phone messages... please know that i dont pick
up because my phone is turned off and i am usually in bed, last night i
was out at 8pm... gotta get my sleep because lily wakes up around 5
am.... anyway i will be around today so give a call or i will try
you... life sounds hard down there. Sarah, Lily and I will be in SF
this weekend so we better see you... also the Roots are playing at the
warfield on Sunday night and i was thinking about trying to make it
happen..."
(this was accompanied by two photos of Dude's very young kid (Lily, I guess) skateboarding.)
...and my personal favorite:
"what up g gabe gansta from bozone crib on main. man that’s some shit to deal with bro got u know man ive been some low places man. been places I didn’t know I was but sat and stared like I wasn’t. been places that I hold against my self for ever being in man been fuckin places so bad and so young its put crimps and ties I don’t even know how to undo. im stillin dealin with shit from my dui my mips my 4 mistermeners in less than two months goin court. they told me today that if I fuck up agiain im going to pine hills tell im 18 man. I always saw saw u has some one that has his shit more staright then mine some one who was always goin some ware no matter what was in front of him some one that was chill smart and fuckin somebody. never a fuck up dog jus some one in a postions whos going to have to work to get what he wants u know. I hope shit works out for you just some friendly words from a friendly friend back from home. don’t be down just be happy give me call
-jared"
I'd thought petty crimes were always female Miss Demeanors, but I guess sometimes Mister Mener rolls into town. Things must have turned out ok, because now:
"GABE! hi how are you?! sorry it took so long to email.
so i am going to atlanta this weekend! i'll be there on the 10th and
the 11th. i'll head back to atlanta the 11th (its a saturday). so
anyways what is your plans?! call me any time! good luck and good luv,
katie"
does this mean he's now in ATL? or why else would she think he cares that she's headed out there? For the most part I've been a good samaritan and told people they're emailing the wrong person, but I want to hear more! Gabe, I wish you well.
Or, as your friend Pete likes to say:
Be like the mountain
Flow like the river
Shine like the sun.
