Dona E. Bowens

Now it’s personal. Me—a middle-aged, menopausal, over-educated Black woman was nearly shot in a drive-by shooting yesterday. Three in the afternoon on a Tuesday. In the Midwest. The Rustbelt city of Akron, Ohio. Minding my own bizness and house hunting with my realtor/friend in a neighborhood that’s attempting to gentrify. Obviously some have given up the attempt at gentrification as evidenced by the bargain basement price of the century home I was this close to making a bid on.

This close to making a bid until shots rang out from a passing car just as my friend and I were leaving the property. We were exposed to the bullets, in the middle of the street, frozen like the proverbial deer in goddamn headlights until my mind kicked into gear. And there goes my old ass, running for cover and landing in the mud behind my car, fully expecting to get…