"When You Walk Through the Garden..."

Situation:

You might have been living under a rock this past week if you did not hear about the arrest of Felecia “Snoop” Pearson. The headlines had a ball saying that this was a case of art imitating life. That may or may not be true, but this recent arrest made us pull out our complete DVD sets of one of the best shows ever on television – The Wire. We wanted to share our five favorite characters from the show. Here they are…

She Says:

First, let me say that The Wire is one of my favorite TV shows, and I recently completed watching my DVD set of the series. If you have never watched an episode, I implore you to do so immediately. It will be worth your time. While watching the five seasons, I really grew attached to more than a few characters, making it tough for me to narrow it down—which, quite frankly, occurs every time we do a post that requires a list. Clearly, I have commitment issues, lol.  Nevertheless, KG makes me do it!

1. Omar – Here was a character that was an exercise in contradiction -- a gay man who robbed drug dealers with a shot gun and whistled “the farmer and dell” as he approached his victims. How great is that?! I love Omar so much that I still get mad at that “lil gump Kenard” for having killed him. Because I know that KG and I share a favorite quote from this character, I will choose another that Omar used while robbing someone:  “Money don’t have no owners, only spenders...I like that ring, too. Boy, you got me confused with a man who repeats himself.”  RIP OMAR!

2. Bodie – Other than being a cutie, Bodie was a G. He didn’t advance far in the Barksdale organization, but he continued to hold down his corner until his last breath--even after being forced to work for Marlo. *spoiler alert* Bodie’s death was the only one, besides Stringer Bell’s, that made me cry.

3. Wee-Bay – I loved me some Wee-Bay. He was the most loyal person on the Barksdale team. Instead of giving up Stringer and Avon, he took the wrap for eight or more bodies in exchange for a pit beef sandwich and potato salad. Lol. What’s not to love about that?!

4. Mike – Though they were all likeable, the character “Michael” stood out among all of the children on the show. It was great to watch how the writers developed his character from a fairly innocent student, into a killer. He was taken under the wing of Snoop and Chris, whom he eventually outsmarted. Adding depth to the storyline, and making his character even better, was his friendship with Wee-Bay’s son Namond-- who wanted no part of the drug game that both his father and good friend were entangled in.

5. D’Angelo Barksdale – D’Angelo was not built for the drug game. Though he ended up behind bars, some of his best scenes took place in jail. Best line: “Where’s Wallace? Where the fuck is Wallace? Huh? String! STRING! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! WHERE THE FUCK IS WALLACE?!"

Honorable Mention: Wee-Bay’s Baby Momma De’Londa – She was a trifling piece of work, whom we met in the fourth season of the show. This fool was pushing her 13-year-old son to sell drugs, so she could stay fly. My favorite line ever uttered from her lips: “I been done keep ya ass in Nike since you were born.”

A

He Says:

The Wire is the greatest show in television history.  If you think differently, you have either not seen it (in which case, I would advise you to go out right now and purchase the DVDs for some good weekend entertainment) … or you been hitting the WMD (all my Wire heads know what I speak of).  In honor of our girl Snoop’s arrest, I am paying homage by listing my top 5 characters from The Wire.

1. Bodie - Many people might disagree with me about this, but I respected Bodie.  Bodie never swayed from what he believed in.  The game has rules---and he made sure never to stray from the code of the streets.  He started off as a young cat in the low rises, and eventually moved to running his own corner.  He made it through the power switch from Barksdale to Stansfield, and in the end, even went out like a true G.  But the kid always maintained a survivor's mentality, despite knowing that he was never more than a pawn in the game.  He said it best himself, “The game is rigged, man. We like them little bitches on the chess board.”

2. Omar – Omar was a “homothug” with a shotgun and an addiction to buying Honey Nut Cheerios in a silk robe at the corner store.  This character was genius.  He robbed the drug dealers, stuck up corner stores, and scared the living crap out of little kids when he walked down the street whistling.  He even had the audacity to kill the ladies’ favorite character—after which his popularity increased even more.  Finally, he might have had the best quote in modern history!  “If you come at the King---you best not miss.” 

3. Snoop - Who would have ever thought that the greatest thug on the show would be a woman?  Well actually, being from Baltimore, I see this type of woman on a regular basis—so I know that this was a smart move on the part of the writers.  I have to say, the fact that she helped Chris to fill up the vacants was quite intriguing/appealing to me.  And the most amazing turn of events for Snoop was right before she died:  you would never imagine a thug like Snoop asking, “How my hair look Mike?”

4. Clay Davis- He makes this list simply because he used to spit the same phrase to folk that I do when they’re talking that nonsense---“SHEEEEEEEEEIT!”

5. Stringer Bell - It shocks me that A does not have String on her list considering she damn near died when he did!  My man was a drug dealer in a suit who, in his spare time, went to community college and ran a real estate business.  He held cats accountable for the business they were running.  If I could list only one thing that I learned from Stringer Bell, it would be that “ninjas don’t appreciate a 40 degree day.”  

K