I was in my car just entering the Fashion District when, rubbernecking, I spotted one of them in bright red pants. I made haste to find a parking spot and then took to stalking them both. I stood outside a storefront, half a block away, waiting for them to head towards me. I watched as they lingered about a clothing shop, chatting it up with a friend. They were quite the social beings, and it seemed they knew everyone on that block of the District. I assumed they would continue their social stroll in my direction, so I patiently waited for them to finish their conversation, passing the time with the Black Eyed Peas in my earphones.
When they looked as if they were wrapping it up, I assumed a pose of nonchalance and looked off in another direction, lest they catch me watching them. A few moments later when I figured it was safe to look up, I saw them jetting off in the opposite direction to my dismay. Without hesitation I set off at a Summer Olympic-contender speed-walking pace, chasing them up the Fashion District sidewalk (with my earphone musical score accompaniment), before they were out of my life forever…
Their names were Rob and Travis, both from Jamaica. Rob had not been home since 2006 and Travis since 2008. They recently opened a Bob Marley-themed store in Naranja (near Homestead, FL), called Revelation Flee Market, where they sell beads and necklaces, Bob Markey shirts and cds, African dvds, and clothes.
"Big up, Urban Street." That's what one of them said into my phone recorder. These guys were fun (even though I couldn't understand half of what they said, and sometimes I wasn't sure if they were talking to me or to each other). These two were definitely into the shoot. When I spotted them, they had the air and swagger of two dudes hungering for an audience, which is why I staked them out for so long.
Travis told me he was a "gu-liss." I couldn't quite figure out what he was saying through his thick Jamaican accent, but then he explained what it meant, and it all became clear: "I'm a girl-ist. It means I like girls." So, girls were his trade, his occupation; he let out a chuckle at his own joke. I tried not to let him see my eyes rolling as I let out a sarcastic giggle of my own.
After a short recorded interview, one of them said what I thought was, "Enough, enough," and our encounter was over. With their performance energy expended, limelight hunger quenched, they darted off to catch up with a friend, no doubt to regroup for their social plans for the night.
