Page 11 - The Jazzsipper Novel

10

THE JAZZ SIPPER

Their friendship started like most childhood friendships with a challenge. At
camp it was customary for the camp elders to setup three-minute boxing
matches amongst the camp attendees and if you lost; your punishment was
for you to call your opponent Uncle. It was almost like the scenes out of the
Gladiators, imagine going against the likes of murders and whatever other
kind of predator you can think of and your worst offense is auto theft. Or just
acting out in school. Some guys literally urinated on themselves when they
saw their opponents. The guys that refused to fight were eaten alive by the
wolf packs in the camp. These wolf packs were notorious for raiding the weak
mentally and physically.

Vance and Babu’s match was classified as a tie, both went at it hard. It was
only fitting that they became best friends. They literally grew up right next to
each other and both knew of the other from the streets. Babu grew up in the
6 th ward in New Orleans, an area called Treme (historically sometimes called
Tremé or Faubourg Tremé or Tremé/Lafitte when including the Lafitte
Projects). Faubourg is a French term that literally means 'suburb' or
neighborhood. It is America's oldest African American neighborhood; it was
the site of significant economic, cultural, political, social and legal events that
have literally shaped the course of events in Black America for the past two
centuries. Yet, few people outside or inside of New Orleans, except for
scholars and historians know its enormous importance to Americans of
African descent.

Vance grew up in the 7th Ward, which is a section of New Orleans that is
geographically the second largest of the 17 wards that make up New Orleans.
The largest was 9th Ward. Jazz musician and composer Jelly Roll Morton and