Soon Ronald knew the answer.
Because he has the same temperament as Aunt Karen, who comes from a poor family. Don't cause trouble, but don't be afraid of trouble either.
Not daring to drive his new car to Harlem, Ronald chose to take the subway there.
After the subway passed the 125th Street station, it opened a tunnel and walked above ground. There were gradually more and more dark-skinned passengers, and there was no scary scene like the legendary people robbing each other with guns.
There are also black mothers taking their children to musical instrument classes in Harlem, and there are also black young men in suits giving up their seats to the elderly.
The main security problem comes from those little guys who don't have jobs. Around the age of fourteen or fifteen, it is the time when male hormones are at their peak and you are not afraid of anything. Having no money to play, I can only "think of ways".
Ronald met a group of people on the subway who were roaring past the carriage. If you avoided their eyes and they saw that you were afraid, they would come forward to harass you and force you to buy some "souvenirs."
Ronald was a strong man. When they looked at him, he looked back without fear or provocation. Instead, they walked around Ronald, got out of the carriages, and jumped over the turnstile.
After getting out of the subway, Ronald quickly stayed away from the public housing belt around the subway. This kind of residential area with dense high-rise buildings and various sports facilities downstairs is all public housing built by the government. It is an area with a high incidence of vicious crimes, and many traffickers and gangs operate here.
When we arrived at the residential area where my uncle's comrade-in-arms, Bader's family, lived, the scene here was completely different. This is an old private residential area, so old that most of the walls have fallen off. The building is not high, there is an open space at the junction of two rows of houses, and the walls are covered with various graffiti.
This kind of old-fashioned housing looks old, but it is actually safer than newer public housing. The population density is lower, gang members don't like it here, and it is not easy to hide when the police come.
There is a small area in the open space, and the ground is paved with terrazzo, which may be a decoration when it was built back then. Now occupied by a group of people.
Another group of young black men in their teens and 20s stood in two groups on the open space. Both groups of people looked at the two people on the terrazzo floor in the middle, dancing to the drumbeats played by the loudspeaker recorder.
Seeing the stranger coming, they stopped the tape recorder, and two groups of people gathered around them. A greeting of unknown meaning came out of his mouth, "Yo, yo...".
Ronald knew this was a red flag. Harlem is very united towards outsiders. This is because if you are white and don’t know how to deal with them, you will be misunderstood as a plainclothes policeman or other white gangsters.
He quickly put down the package and spread his hands to show that there was no threat. He looked into the eyes of the two leading black men and said loudly:
"I'm here to see the Bud family, Bud Davis. My uncle is a comrade of old Bud. Do any of you know his family?"
"Bud, Bud, I'm a guest in your house." The crowd pushed out a child whose age was unclear. He was five feet six (1.70 meters) tall, with a very strong build but a childish face.
"Hey, is this Cousin Ronnie? My mom told me you were coming and asked me to pick you up." Little Bud, who has the same name as his father, came up and fist-bumped Ronald affectionately.
"This is the new popular way to say hello." Little Bud explained when he saw Ronald's confusion.
Ronald followed his example, touched him, picked up the package, and asked, "Are you doing a dance battle?"
"Yeah... we're dancing with people from the Bronx, and we play here every day when we have nothing to do." Little Bud said, "Let's go home first, and I'll take you with me."
"Doesn't this matter to you?" Ronald asked little Bud, pointing to the dance floor.
"Yo, yo...
White guy from outside,
It turns out he is still a tall guy.
I don’t know if I have a brain,
Hide behind little Bud,
Do you dare to come down and dance..."
Perhaps Ronald's pointing and pointing angered the other party. From the group of people who were opposed to Little Bud, a Latino came out, turned on the tape recorder, and with the accompaniment of the rhythm band's drum beat, he suddenly made up a verse to mock Ronald. Virtue.
"You motherfxcker! Keep your mouth clean. Cousin Ronnie is the nephew of my father's comrade-in-arms and is one of our own." Little Bud was annoyed and tried to push him. Two groups of people quickly stepped forward, and the conflict was about to escalate.
"Hey, hey... stop." The leaders on both sides quickly shouted loudly to stop the pushing and shoving on both sides.
"Didn't we agree? Today, friends from Harlem and the Bronx, the winner will be decided by dancing."
I put the boombox on the roadside and put the boombox on the roadside, and played a rhythm tape with only drum beats.
The Latina just now was making up lyrics again to encourage the dancers on both sides. Ronald looked quite interesting. I wonder what kind of dance they were dancing, disco?
Bounce, Bounce, Bounce...
The drum beat has a very strong rhythm, which is different from the 4/4 beat of disco.
"Ouch..." Ronald exclaimed, and saw the dancer from the Bronx doing a full Thomas spin on the ground, and then rhythmically landing on all fours in turn.
A carp jumped up and down, and began to dance like a robot with all its joints.
"Huh?" Ronald felt that he could dance this part too, so he made a few gestures to himself. It seemed that he really knew how to dance, but he was a little unfamiliar.
After dancing, the dancers in the Bronx made various movements such as hooking their fingers, raising their little fingers, and raising their thumbs upside down to provoke the people in Harlem.
The boss on Little Bud's side looked back at a young man and motioned for him to come forward with his eyes.
The young man wore an old-fashioned top hat, a gray vest, and blue tight basketball shorts, but he lifted the front of the vest over his head, exposing his chest muscles and eight-pack abs.
It started like a noodle dance, with the whole body as boneless as noodles. It slowly became limp with the rhythm, and then gradually stood up and returned to normal.
Then it was also a gymnastics pommel horse style movement, but when he was doing it, he deliberately thrust his hips in time with the rhythm to provoke the opponent.
In the end, it was also a carp thrust. After standing upright, he covered his basketball shorts and at the same time thrust his hips towards the opponent to the beat of the drum.
"Hey, it seems like I can do this." A familiar feeling appeared in Ronald's body again.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." The friends in Harlem roared in victory.
This finishing move humiliated the opponent so much. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that the Harlem competitor on Little Bud's side dances better.
And based on Ronald's experience watching Meg practice, 80% of her had received professional ballet training.
The flexibility, coordination and kicking style of some movements all have the shadow of ballet. The most important thing is that when he performs kicking movements, his toes will unconsciously straighten.
What's even more coincidental is that Ronald seemed to have seen his figure in the movie clip in his dream, flashing by in the group dance scene.
Ronald couldn't help but applaud him.
"Hey, white guy, it's your turn." The boss on the other side pointed at Ronald.
"That's bad, cousin, you shouldn't applaud. According to the rules here, participating in the applause is equivalent to acknowledging that you are from our side, and the other party can challenge you." Little Bud quietly told Ronald the rules of the dance.
"Hey, can you do it, white guy?" The boss here also had a bad tone. If Ronald couldn't jump, it would be terrible for him to turn victory into defeat.
"Let me dance." Ronald suppressed his excited body slightly and signaled the other party to start playing the rhythm tape.
Bounce, Bounce, Bounce...
Ronald first crossed his hands and put them on his knees, then began to switch hands with the rhythm, making it seem like he was switching knees.
Then use your hands to simulate climbing a ladder in the air, one, two, three times..., three, four... times. Everyone noticed something interesting. Ronald was imitating the painter's movements of climbing the ladder. Although there was no ladder, the performance was so vivid that the buddies in Harlem started to cheer.
Little Bud saw that his eldest cousin could actually dance this kind of black dance, and couldn't help but cheer loudly, "Yo...he is my eldest cousin Ronnie, the nephew of my father's comrade in arms, my eldest cousin!" "
Then the air pulls the rope to walk,
The air cleans the glass while walking,
Ronald was so excited that he put one hand on his chest and followed the rhythm with his palms, simulating the beating of his heart. Plop, plop...
Move and hit, move and hit, dong dong... dong dong dong, the drumbeat of the recorder changed.
Ronald turned around and locked his feet. Press the top of your head, then move your finger over to signal the ballet dancer to throw his top hat over.
The man threw it and the hat flew high into the air. Ronald caught it steadily with his hand and put it on his head. Then he covered the hat with one hand and put his other hand into his trouser pocket, lifting his hips in time with the rhythm.
"Yo, yo, look, look, how is my eldest cousin dancing?" Little Bud played again.
Ronald danced very happily. It seemed that this was a kind of dance that he could dance in his previous life, and his level was not bad. Once he danced it, he became proficient.
He took off his top hat and quickly threw it back to the ballet dancer. Ronald changed his dance posture, snapped his fingers with his right hand, raised his legs high, and ran on the spot.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
After stopping to show off, Ronald changed his movements again, still raising his legs high, as if running forward...
But the whole person was moving backwards.
Well, I'm still a little unskilled at it.
"Wow!..."
The whole crowd exploded!
Several dancers, including those from the Bronx across the street, were more discerning than the general audience and rushed up to surround Ronald:
"Hey man, what's your move called?"
"I call it the Moonwalk."
"Can you teach us?"
After demonstrating two more moonwalks to the dancers, Ronald said he wanted to see little Bud's mother, Mrs. Davis. Everyone gave him friendly fist bumps, hugs, and goodbyes. As long as they treat you as one of their own, black brothers are actually very nice.
Ronald quietly pulled over Little Bud and asked him to tell the dancer who had studied ballet to find a place to meet near Little Bud's house, and he could introduce him to a job as an extra.
"What about me, Cousin Ronnie, can I be an extra on the set?" After little Bud agreed, he asked himself again. It seems that black people also have dreams of becoming stars.
"How old are you?" Ronald looked at Little Barney's figure, and it didn't look like he could dance.
"I'm 14, my sister is 15, and my sister is 13."
"Are you in middle school? The crew has legal regulations and cannot hire actors under the age of 18."
"Are you lying to me? Cousin, you can't hire actors under 18 years old. How did Shirley Temple make a movie?" Little Bud smiled, as if he had seen through his cousin's trick.
"You are very smart, little Bud. There are indeed young actors making movies, but that requires hiring tutors to make up lessons on the set, which your family cannot afford." Ronald looked at Bud's hopeful face turning to disappointment, and added, "I I can’t even afford it.”
"Okay, I get it. Anyway, cousin, don't forget me when you have the chance." Little Bud quickly recovered from his disappointment and walked home with Ronald.
