Green Card Emboldens Gas Attendant
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Marietta, GA – Alex Acquah was a man accustomed to being overlooked and under appreciated. That all changed last week when after living in the city of Marietta on a temporary vacation for 12 years, he was at last granted the right to work legally in the country.
On June 17th, he decided to flex his new American muscle at the BP gas station on Windy Hill Rd where he puts in long hours every day.
“Ye know,” he said in his best American street accent, “there dis man who come into muh (my) gas station every week. An’ he wanna jump the line ahead of the odder (other) cus’mers.”
He paused to reach behind the counter to pass a patron a pack of Newport cigarettes. An old Ice Cube album skipped on the CD player in the background.
“He a little thuuug, ye know,” he continued. “He come in here wid him pants hanging down and him braids…I told him. ‘Look! This is a line, and if you don’t like lines, you gotta get ou’rav (out of) America!”
Vindicated, Mr. Acquah proudly informed us that the patron indeed waited his turn, after being admonished. He admits that he took a risk: the customer could have called his boss and complained of bad customer service, threatening his job security. Alex had a more positive outlook on that possibility
“I’m Amrikan (American) now, ye know what I’m sayin’? I ain’t scared of no INS anymore…I get another job!”
To test out his newly acquired “American-ness”, Mr. Acquah later went to Publix and purchased the biggest order of fried chicken and watermelon that the store had to offer, in order to pay homage to the Juneteenth celebrations taking place that week.
