Diversity Rules Magazine

3 Diversity Rules Magazine November 2017 Tarringo T. Vaughan al- ways believed he had a love affair with lit- erature. One of the first pic- tures he saw of himself was of him at maybe the age of three or four year's old sitting with a book in his hand. But for Tarringo, growing up in the depths of the inner city both in Boston, MA and Springfield, MA made him believe that expression through the literary voice was un-cool and unattainable. As a very quiet and shy child he learned it became very valuable in his self expression I never liked the taste of lies, like a half sip of cognac they are tough to swallow. So I should've known better than to trust a man who couldn't look me in the eyes. I should've known better than to believe in him after my intuition told me that he wasn't any good. We meet on a warm summer night about six years ago and hit it off right away even enough to share some beers and a couple shots of Hennessy over a few games of pool. I didn't even like Hennessey but this guy had a smooth way of talking people into things. He had a convincing way about his actions but one thing I quickly noticed was his eyes would never meet mine. But I was new to the scene and vulnerable at that time because I was in search of friends in this new world and I wanted to take a sip of perhaps something more; I wanted to taste what inti- macy was like on a deeper level. Despite the lack of eye contact we became quick close friends and even ex- plored romance until the warning from others came. I was told not to trust that damn fool but once again he was convincing enough for me to take his words over people I barely knew. And what he convinced me of was that "fags" were envious and just a bunch of gossip queens. I had just enough experience during that time to buy into it. Sometimes you have to take in a little of the false to get a whole lot of the truth. Over time he became my roommate and the true col- ors started to show. I instantly knew I made a mistake but still wanted to believe in him. He lost his job so he said but claimed as a Car dealer he could find another job whenever he wanted. He was a quick talker and a master of bullshit if you tell me and he played the role with an Oscar win- ning performance. Enough that mu- tual friends begin believing that I was the one treating him like a pair of raggedy ole sneakers tossed over a telephone line. ey started to believe I was mak- ing his world miser- able. Seriously that's how good he was. And all the while I had received bad rent checks and bills unpaid to go along with a whole bunch of stress I thought I was too young to die from but it was killing me. Living in my own apartment for that period of time with someone I bonded with over shots of cognac because a miserable time for me. And to think I never liked the taste of lies but I was taking sips of it daily until one day I came home and all of his stuff along with his deceit Cognac - Con't on page 12 A Half Sip Of Cognac Diary Of A Black Man By Tarringo Basile-Baughn

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