Finding the Hood

On top of my list of things to do in LV is finding the hood. Now, some of you may be wondering why I would be looking for the hood, especially since I just left one of the biggest hoods in the entire Northern Hemisphere. Detroit, leading the nation in obesity, syphallis and Henessey consumption, is frequently charactized as the hood and, in theory, once one left, he or she would not seek to replace the hoodlike elements found in the city.

One would be wrong. I now live in the suburbs with very few hood like elements--including Black hair dressers.

Many of my girlfriends would agree with me in that any progressive, upwardly mobile Black girl in mainstream America NEEDS (like one needs sustenance) a good hair dresser. For those of us with those tight, lovely, curly locks (read between the line: naps) we may need someone to maintain and tame our hair on a weekly basis. Weaves and braids are an option, but someone still must put them in. And I, as some of you know, are "between stages." Half of my hair is relaxed, half of my hair is pressed, all of it needs immediate attention.

There are not good black hair dressers in my new neighborhood. I'm fairly sure of it, because the only hair salon I've seen around here is called "Angel hair" Ha.

So, I sought to find the hood. I just knew that in the hood I would either find a hair dresser or someone who could point me in the direction of one.

Well, how does one go about finding the hood in a new neighborhood? Well, look for a few telltale signs: the streets will stop having names like "Rock Springs Circle" or "Wilson Avenue North" or "Cheyenne Springs" and will start having names like "D" or "H" or "Martin Luther King Boulevard." When one is really in the heart of the hood, the street names will cease having letters and rely solely on numbers "2nd" or "15th" or "33rd."

Another second good clue is the absence of banks and the upsurge of Check Cashing Centers. When National City is replaced by CashFastNow!, there is a good chance one is near the hood.

A third dead giveaway is the $.99 store. Dollar stores like DollarTree can now be found in practically any neighborhood. However, the $.99 store is a unique to the hood.

A fourth indication is that the number of barbeque joints, poice cars and fire trucks will increase exponentially.

Now, I like the hood. I grew up in the hood. I understand the hood. Though I have seemingly replaced the hood with the burbs (quid pro quo) that does not mean that I have written off the hood. The hood is usually full of interesting, warm and friendly people who can point you to a good church, a good bbq joint and a good hair dresser.

So, today, I took the first step toward finding a hair dresser: I found the hood.