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Love Dot Com: The Social Experiment (2019)
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DC's number one, it's WPGC 95.5! It's your boy DJ Flex, home team on your radio! Good morning, Chocolate City! We hold on to that chocolate, we hold on to it but the swirl is real. On the way I got a throwback made new for you with Raheem DeVaughn & The Crank Crusaders coming up. Oh, you know what we got to do, we got to pay these bills, and Love Dot Com helps us do just that. Are we all just trying to figure out who loves us more? It's WPGC 95.5. Having a hard time finding love? Tired of the DC bar scene? Maybe you need to join us over here on Love Dot Com, because love is online waiting for you. Wait up on aisle seven. We need more cashiers up front, please. Oh... Ooh! Hey, let me help you with that. Thank you. Sorry. Thank you. Wow. Sorry. It's okay. Just need a... an extra hand. - Thank you. - You got it? There you go. Hey, you gonna be able to handle it? - I got it. Thank you. - Sure? - I got it. Thank you. - You're welcome. Columbus is believed to be the first man to ever bring a tomato to Europe as early as 1493 from Central and South America. You're telling me that Columbus "Columbussed" the tomato? Tomatoes actually come in many different colors, even blue. A blue tomato? I'm... I'm not eating a blue tomato. Why not? You told me not to eat anything blue. I was talking about the blue juice and the blue candy. You come into this classroom with every other week. Okay, now that is not real food. I mean it tastes good. Anyway, Wesley, um, today's class we are going to make a sauce, okay? So this... These are heirloom tomatoes, and heirlooms are really extremely popular nowadays because of their... Wealth. Yes, Ma'am. Okay. I don't get it. Heirloom as in like a possession being handed down. But in vegetables it means basically making something new and... And cultivating it again. Making old stuff new again, like our neighborhood. I get it. Exactly, just like our neighborhood. So you guys ready? - Yeah. - Okay. I want you to puree the asparagus. So you're not gonna say bye? Come on, B. Go. - Thank you. - You're welcome. How... come on, I don't want any... I'm sorry, what can I get you? Hey, grocery store, right? I'm sorry? MOM's, the other day. That was you, right? You had the phone, you had your... Oh, right, right, right. It's like you want to believe you're not attached to your phone in... in reality. It's our entire life. Right. What can I get you? - Oh, uh, can I get an egg and cheese with... - No. - No? Bacon and eggs? - Uh, no. You have sausage? Did you even look at the menu? No. Ah, would you look at that? That's, uh, that's me. Well, what do... what do you mean that's you? Who's you? Well, it's actually half of me. Oh, okay. Whoa, okay. So you and the other half of you are trying to evict me? No, absolutely not. What we are trying to do is get our folks on a path to home ownership. That's our plan. But I like being a renter. That can't be possibly true. You see, what this is about, it's about saving our people. Okay, first of all, you don't even know these people. And who even said that they needed you to save them? Wesley, will you finish his order, please? Yeah, I got you. What do you want? What do you suggest? I suggest what's on the menu. Strawberry muffin. Will that be to go? Umm... Nah, I'd have to stay. And give me a cup of coffee. All right. All right. Strawberry muffin and coffee. - Thanks. - Is there anything else I can get you? That's it, I'm fine. Hey greenies, welcome back to another episode... So what are you doing over there? Social Experiment. Last week... Oh, B is just shooting an episode for The Social Experiment. B? Yeah, Shelby Quinn. She... you can watch it online. She owns the place? Um, yeah, she is one of the owners. What does she have against bacon? Wait a minute. So nobody, fortunately, listened to our mission statement? Mh-hm. Hi, my name is Melanie and welcome to The Social Experiment. If you can't afford to pay for that vegan strawberry muffin or that espresso coffee, then roll your sleeves up and make your way to the back, 'cause we have plenty of dishes for you to wash to work off that 15 dollars. Nice. So how you guys keeping the doors open? Oh, well, um, we're charging people with thousand-dollar suits 15 dollars for a muffin. Enjoy. But before we get started, I have to say thank you so much to Village Tea Company for sponsoring this YouTube video. Hey. Ah, today was such a good day. Did you guys see the one in the suit with the... the nice tie? Oh, please. Are you serious right now? I'm... no. Okay, finish... yeah, do that. Okay... See you tomorrow? Sure. We're closed. Hey, greenies, welcome back to another episode of The Social Experiment. Now last week you won't bet me that I couldn't get Wesley to try scrambled tofu. But this week I challenge you that I will prove you wrong. But before we do, I need you to make sure you subscribe to this video, click the like button... This one looks good. So good. This is excellent. - It tastes so good. - Thank you so much. This looks so good. - Yes. - Right there. - I'm gonna pour this for you. - Thank you, Sam. After the day I had, I need that glass of wine. - There we go. - Thank you. So, uh, B, what's taking so long signing the partner agreement? Seriously, Sam, I don't want to talk about this right now, okay? Let's just eat. Avoidance issues much? Honey, he's not coming back. Iris, it's not even about that. All right. We got to keep emotion out of the business. Why? Why? Why can't people bring sentiment and integrity in all matters? Because people who are born on third base already had it, they don't have to. Neal can play his hippie-dippie save the world persona. But then when he gets bored, he left you and Sam high and dry. What she said! - Okay. - Yeah. I am over it. I am over it. Right, when a person is over it, they move forward, okay, even when it hurts. Okay, seriously guys, can we just let Neal go? - Oh, we have. - We let him go. Huh, I signed the paperwork. I'm waiting on you, partner. So, what about Sunday dinner? Are you coming, Shelby? Why? What's going on? So, Niko and I broke up. - No! - I know. You know, but you know what? Mom and dad are so extra and I just... I really need the backup, so I'm hoping please come. Your mom has been waiting for those grandkids. - How about you two... - What's going on? - Get them to her. - No. - We got better things to do. - Oh. Okay, alright. Alright. Well, so wait, where... where are you all getting married? And why are you wasting that perfect love? We've only been dating for a year, so, slow your roll. Thanks so much. Get your girlfriend. Get your girlfriend. Well, at least we can all agree that Love Dot Com did get one man right. Iris, before Sam met you, he was an absolute mess, seriously. - Like you are now. - Ooh. You know what, that is not the point I was trying to make. What it was? All I'm saying is like you guys are so beautiful. Love Dot Com got it right. - Yeah. - They did. - Ugh, you make me sick. - Oh my gosh. Uh, excuse me, hello. Can you get out your phone please? - Seriously, that's rude. - Sorry. Thank you. Who you're talking to anyways? This guy that I met at the grocery store last week, right. But then he came into the cafe this morning and he orders bacon. - Oh, bacon. - Like... - Bacon makes everything better. - Yeah. - No, but it gets worse. - Sure. Like, seriously gets worse. It turns out he's actually the owner of my building. - Hmm. - Ooh. Like, I literally have 90 days to either move out of my apartment or buy it. - It's tough. - Yeah, but he is cute? - Oh my god. - Is he cute? That's... that's the question. He came in with a suit. He was wearing a suit this morning. - Wait, wait, wait... - And? Yeah, I remember him. Melanie kept talking about how good-looking he was. Oh great, keep this backup boyfriend. - Ooh, jealous. - Hey. - Ring it. Might be a girl. - Okay, listen... Alright, Sam, it's okay. You win. You win. So what's his name? Who? The guy in your DM. Greg Jeffries, whatever. - Okay. - You want it? So, is this him? - Damn, Tara. What are you like the CIA? - What? - How did she get that that fast? - He's so good-looking. Oh my God. Seriously? - He's good-looking. - No, he looks like a snob. A snob. It's a snack. - Snob. - It's a snack. Wait, wait, wait. Okay, look, it says here that he is a partner with Smith and Jeffries. Yeah, I know. Wait, wait, wait, wait, Smith and Jeffries? The developers building the condos behind The Big Chair? - Mm-Hm. Yeah, I think that's the one. - Yeah. What? So, what do you... what do you say? You are so annoying. What? He just... I don't know, he wants to go out for coffee. And he says he's interested in the work that we do. - Go. - Sure he is. - Go? - Go. - Yeah, go. - Seriously? - Yeah, go. - Yes. Go. I am not about to go and have coffee with the man who's putting me out of my apartment. - Uh, wait, he may give you a discount. - Eww. Really guys? Seriously? What? Listen, all I'm saying is at least you'll be able to see - what the deal is first hand, right? - She has a point. Thank you. Yeah. Hey, you might find out his business has a little bit of integrity. Maybe. Maybe. Thank you very much. We are greenies. We are greenies? You are just not gonna understand. Okay. It's fine. Yeah, I'll clean with you guys later. Okay, fine, I'm sorry. And now you can call what you do urban redevelopment. But you don't even know the work that I do. And, um, is there anything else I can get for you? Thanks, I'm fine. Yes, you are. Thanks, again. My lady thinks so too. Ah, I'm so sorry. It's just when you walked in, you're by yourself and I thought she's by herself. - No, no, no, I'm not with him, it's... - I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Why would you do that? She was doing way too much. I'm sure you probably get that all the time. What is that supposed to mean? Sorry, nothing. Nothing. That's a really great book that you're reading, by the way. Yes, it is. No, really, it's a really great book. You've read this before? Why are you shocked? I mean it just doesn't really look like we have anything in common. Why were you reading this book? And that particular book I had to read because I'm into urban development. Oh, okay. So you're an active participant in gentrification. Let me say that I build green spaces in urban communities. At least that's the work I would like to do. Um, I didn't take you for a tree lover at all. I'm not. I just think it's really important for us to have strong work force programs in our communities so that, you know, we're prepared for the new jobs to come. What do you mean? I mean, like, put it this way, going green is like the new black. Wow. Ceasing to amaze me. Leave it up to corporate America to pimp the trees. That's cute. Can I take you out to dinner? What? Me, you, can I... Can I take you out? Um, I don't really date men that wear like expensive watches and eat meat. No offense. It's... It's just not my thing. That's interesting. I mean how's that working out for you? Come on. Hey, look at me. Look... I don't want it. You... you're taking the watch off? What watch you're talking about? Oh really? Think about it. Come on. I mean try something new. You might have a good time. Think about it. Hey. Oh, thank you. We are out of sesame oil. So I'm just adjusting the menu. Can you do a purchase order today? - Sure. - Yeah? Thank you. Shit... Hey. Hey, hey. Hey. Wow. What's his name, uh, Sam... - Yeah. - He said you was out back. Yeah. Yeah. This is uh... This is nice, Shelby. Thank you. Thank you. It's a lot of hard work. You okay? - Yeah. Why... I'm... yes. - You sure? Yeah. I'm good. It's... It's just nice to see you. Yeah, it's good to see you, too. So, um, how did class go today? Oh my gosh, class was amazing. So we did like this butternut squash pear soup infused with fruit. And the kids had jokes. - Oh. - Yeah. Butterbur squash and pear. That's... that's interesting. Oh, do not act like... one of those five-star restaurants you go to do not serve you fancy soups infused with fruit. Infused with fruit, huh. So this is what we're teaching the kids nowadays, huh? - Yes. - Okay. No wonder they were laughing. Oh, really? Oh you have jokes? It was good. Yeah, I'm just playing. Oh this is nice. Real nice. Thank you. You think you can recreate something like this in the housing development? You want me to grow roses from concrete? Okay, Tupac. What you know about Tupac? - I love Tupac. - Oh really? I won't deny it I'm a straight ridah Hey, you don't Wanna fuck with me Hold on. I didn't see that coming. - I'm a positive man. - You a fan. Yeah, well, I get him around. You know what, that was cute, okay. Um... Yeah, but serious business. Yeah. No, I could... I could recreate this. The biggest thing would just be to make sure the soil is good. You know, we build some boxes, plant some seeds, get by from the community to care for it. Okay. That's nice. Yep. The community is down, B. How do you know? That's the work that I do, B. Don't get your suit dirty. It's that seed. That's how you do it, right? Yeah, two inches down. Look at you. Well, what happens when the community that you work with realizes that they can't afford what your company is proposing and they move to Maryland? Well, I think if they can learn how to make butternut squash-infused pear soup, we could teach them about financial literacy. You think it's that simple, Mr. GQ. Clearly, you don't know your audience. Why don't you teach me? You know you keep smiling at me like that, making me feel like I really got a chance. You better stop. Would you like some juice? I just got a brand new juice machine. I can get you some ginger, some lemon. - Yeah. - Yeah? - I like that. - Yeah? As long as you keep smiling. After you. Ginger, peach... - Apple. - Apple. - What would you like? - Bananas. Sound like the fruit lady. I got you. Have a seat over there. Okay. It's a beautiful day today, right? Can I get y'all some smoothies? All right. Changed your mind? Shut up. Here is one lemon cayenne pepper juice for you. Okay. Is it sweet enough? Oh, yeah, it's sweet. You know Shelby, the one and the most beautiful things about you is that you don't know how beautiful you are. I really find that charming. You see... look, there it is again. Oh my gosh. Will you stop? Yeah. That is real charming. See? Look, look at that. You do know that it's not just about making me laugh, right? Oh, yeah? Why don't you tell me what's it about? Compatibility. Yes. Are we compatible? Yeah. So, how about let me prepare something for you, make you laugh a little bit more this Saturday, you and I? Will you cook? I'll have food. There will be food there. Hey, no judging. You guys got to just stop doing that. I mean jump in the pool and start swimming. So everything has just got to be done, man. It got to be done sometimes, dude. - All right. Yeah, shoot. - What's up, brah? You want the court or you off the court? - Oh, yo, what's up, man? - Hey, how you been? - Good. Good to see you. - Good to see you, everybody. - Yeah. Can I get you fellows anything else? - Yeah, I... I got it, bro. Give us three butter beans and some drinks to go for ladies right there, whatever they want it's on me, bro. All right, yeah. All right. I'll take over here. So, how much more you want? Man, you sound like you're still in college. I'm still single. Me, too, man. Wait, Molly don't think so. Yeah, Molly don't think so, brah. She's crazy. Yeah, I like them crazy. We... we know. Yeah, we know that you like them kind of crazy. Man, why you got to bring that up? That's... no, that's a sensitive topic. I know, man. I mean don't you just sometimes get tired of just singing this shit? Tired? What you mean, brah? I mean, like, sometimes all this is just so superficial, man. Look, man, we're just at a bar having drinks with friends, brother. Don't make it deeper than it has to be. Right. I mean who got time to psychoanalyze the DC bar scene? Hold up, spell psychoanalyze, nigga. Oh, I spell it for you. G-R-E-G. - Okay. You got that. - Thanks, man. Oh, you rolling out on us now? Yeah, man. I got early morning meetings and I got a date. A date? Yeah, a date. Yeah, going on a proper date. Wait, wait, wait, Vanessa did a number on you. Hold on, don't even bring up Vanessa's name, okay? She liked the idea, not the reality. She liked the idea of me, not the reality of me. You sound like you're so full of yourself right now, brah. And Vanessa is fun. She's real fun. Yo, he went like Eric Bent on that chick. You know like Jay say, "Never go Eric Bent." Okay. I had to pass on that. I mean she's fine as she was. She just, you know, couldn't get her head around the kind of work I do, especially she didn't even know the work I did at Anacostia. Oh, man, love life waiting, brah. - Brothers. Love you all. - Absolutely. I'm gonna save a little bit of this because... Don't drown, brother. Don't drown. Yeah, I'll be good, man. I'll see you. Bye bro. Safe. So, Peter, I think now the time has come. Yeah, it's possibly set up to come. Ladies, come on over. Wow. - I see you got your drinks. - Hey, how are you doing? - We did, yeah. - Absolutely. Pleasure to meet you. How are you doing? I'm Rodney. Yeah. Don't worry about Pete. We've got some beautiful greens here that we're gonna just chop up nice so we can get a nice chop on that. Fill that into our bowl here. Bowl. Add a little onion, - stuffed with fresh organic mango and some apple. - Hold on, hold on. Oh, man. Yeah, so this is mi casa. Wow, this is... this is nice. And it seems we have similar taste in artwork. Oh really? Yeah, I... I have these hanging in my restaurant. Yeah, but I like his work, really speaks to my contradictions. His work seems to do that. - Hey, relax, come in. - Thank you. Wow, that's a lot of kale. Kale is king. What are you making? Well, I'm making kale salad and butternut squash soup. I had a nice recipe from that kid Devon at Chuck Brown Towers. Devon is a very sweet kid. Actually he wants to be a chef. - Mmm. - Yeah. Okay. I like that. What's in the pot? Oh in the pot, I made some... Oh this, it's "guinoa". What's so funny? What? That's quinoa. Quinoa. Quinoa? Yes. Quinoa. Yes. I am learning every second. Oh, and, um, I made some stir-fry mushrooms. Oh, it smells... it smells great but, um, I think your mushrooms are burning. Oh, shit. Oh damn, my bad. Yeah. Can we start over? I think I can help this whole situation now. See, this is how you do it. Nice. Right. It looks pretty right. It's really pretty. Bon apptit! Bon apptit! Can I... can I tell you something? I have to make a confession. What's that? This might be the first prepared meal I had in this place. - Well, I hope it's good. I hope you like it. - Thank you. - Mm-hmm. - Right? It's green. I mean you saw that kale you prepared. Mm-hmm. All right now, this recipe. Mmm. Is good? Okay. I'm a chef in the making. I'm filling myself. Although you can't be, because that is... Well, you got to taste it though. Oh, goodness. Wait, I did that. - It's good. - You didn't do that. I did that. - You did that. - Yeah, I did that. When it touched the lips there was like... Oh that's what happened... it was the extra ginger there, yeah. But you know the secret to my sauce is the fresh rosemary. Huh? Never heard that before? We didn't make the sauce. Right. But that's a line. It's a classic line. I have no idea what you're talking about. Boomerang? I never saw it. You never saw Boomerang? How is that possible? No, I never saw it. I don't know. What, you are gonna revoke my black card, too? Oh, you have a black card? I'm just kidding. You have some place to be? - Um, I do. - Yeah? I actually have an early morning. I have to open the restaurant. And since I brought my bike over here, I should probably be getting back. Okay. As soon as we're done this amazing kale salad. Um, but this, that looks crazy. Are you gonna need help with the dishes? I mean that's like a tidal wave of dishes. I've never seen anything like that before in here. Yeah. You got it? I can handle it. You sure? Yeah, I'm sure. Okay. Where'd you put my purse? Oh, your purse, um, left it on the barstool over there. Oh. Here? Yeah, hey Shelby, hey, how about I give you a ride back? You know these... it is a pile of dishes here and I could use an extra hand or two. - Really? - Yes. Yeah, I thought so. Yeah, so why don't you just... - Take my purse? - Oh, yeah. And... Gosh. Greg... That... Was absolutely ridiculous. Oh my gosh. I'll be happy if I never saw another dish in my life. There's chitlin' juice everywhere. What? You really telling me you never really saw Boomerang? Are we gonna do this again? Okay. No, I told you I... I haven't seen it. We'll get you a black card and we're gonna fix that right now. I think it's on demand. Greg, I thought you were taking me home. I will. Okay. So, Robin Givens' character is like the epitome of the hardcore player, the woman version. Okay. And then you got Eddie Murphy's character who is like this big town womanizer, but it doesn't really work on Robin Givens. Mm-hmm. Then you had the quirky artsy Halle Berry, who was perfect for Eddie Murphy but he just doesn't know it. Okay, wait, are you gonna tell me the whole movie? My bad. What are you doing? I'm kissing. Hey. - Hey. - Hey. Hello. Hi. Hey. I brought you some coffee that's Cuban bean with soy creamer. Thank you. Um, you know I have a coffee machine here, but I appreciate it. Yeah. You ever been to Cuba? - No. - No? No, I haven't. It's a beautiful place like you. About last night... Straight to the point, huh. Yeah. That was wonderful. I think you're beautiful. It was... it was great. Yeah, no, it... It... it was, it was. Um... What? I kind of just... I don't know, I... I feel like I... I might have jumped the gun a little bit. You know, like normally I'm... I'm fairly strategic about these types of things... Strategic? I mean, Greg, I don't know you like that, you know... - I mean I get it. I understand. - Yeah. We know each other a little bit better now, don't you think? Sex... sex is easy, you know, and it'd been a long time, so... So, you don't want to do it again? I just think I'm at the point where, I don't know, I kind of want to just see what's out there. Sam, hold on, my business partner, right, you met him. Yeah. He found the perfect woman online. Okay, that's good for Sam. No, no. But like when I say perfect, like they match. Like it's... It's incredible to watch and... And I look at them and I'm like, like, I want that, you know. And then... I mean I don't know. Do you think we... we would match? I think that spark would charge my American Express. But like what if we tried it? But what if we did it? What if we took the personality test just to see if we match? Okay. But why would we do that? I just... I don't know, I think that it would just save us from a lot of the bullshit that comes with dating. Yeah, but is this something that you're getting from me that doesn't seem authentic right now? It's always great starting something. Yeah, but we got to start somewhere, right? Yeah, but starting something is easy. Finishing is the hard part. Yeah. Hey, look, we go on this Love Dot Com thing, right. - Yeah. - We start a profile to see if we match. Okay. Don't you think we'd be taking away from all the people who are really looking for love? No. Aren't we all looking for love? I don't know. Seems a little confusing, B. I don't understand where you're coming from. Look, I'm... I'm not one of your projects. Oh, come on, babe, you talking about one of my projects? I'm not trying to make another mistake, like, I'm not. It's not unthinkable that we'd be seeing other people when we first met. - It's not. - Yes. I mean no. At least I wasn't. I ended a long-term relationship. I mean I get it. All right, look, B, maybe you're hurt, okay. Listen, it isn't fair to me. I mean I'm not him. I've been upfront with you. Okay, we go in this Love Dot Com thing. We'd set up a profile to see if we match. But after this thing does what it does, you want to do that to see if this is real? Yes, I do. This is crazy. It's not... I mean, look, Greg, think of it as a social experiment. B, I don't know. Look, I got... I got a meeting I got to get to. I'll call you later? Of course. Love Dot Com. Yes. Just give it a thought. I'll talk to you later, all right. Yes, so it seems like there's been a thirty-percent increase in applications at the Chuck Brown apartments. Are we sure this is the direction you want to take our investment? We all agreed that our direct involvement in this program will meet all our needs, and to ensure that our resources will go to the places we felt we needed most, huh. Okay, but Greg, clearly, this is your passion. And mine. I mean I'm sure Greg can persuade you to agree with ideas around creating real change in this community. It takes a lot to buy a home and maintain a mortgage. I mean we're talking about mixing DC's diverse economic communities here. - I mean some of these people... - These people? Come on now, Bina. First off, we're not talking about people, we're talking about class here. The next thing you're gonna say is that you wanted poor people's interests. I didn't mean it that way. These folks need these skills and this type of development more than anybody if there's ever gonna be an equal playing field. Greg, they need workshops on money management, credit management, and other social services. I mean giving them a home without these steps, you're setting them up for failure. Well, we're gonna use those as building blocks. I mean they still need to meet the requirements to qualify for the program. Don't you think that if they had those requirements then they wouldn't need these services? Exactly. It just seems like another form of discrimination. We should be concentrating on helping them understand how credit works. I mean before we show them how to grow tomatoes. It's not just tomatoes. I mean there are wind and solar job training programs. And how is that participation working out? I'll admit over the last year it's been tough getting the community involved. - But I mean these things take time. - We don't have much more time. Bina. What do you suggest, hmm? Helping these people develop the skills in these programs is what is needed for the new wave of green jobs. I thought that was the start. What about a person who's trying to start up a small business or the one that's trying to sustain one, hmm? Now he has to think about how he's gonna afford a quality of life, live here, and working. Girl, how many cards did you have? - Hey mom. - All right. - Hey, Aunt Kathy. - Hey. - What's up, Poppy? - Hi. How was your date? What? You had a date the other night, right? Mh-hm. Tara was telling us all about it. - Damn, Tara. - Watch your mouth. So, how was your date? I mean it was okay. - Really? - It was just okay? I mean, Mom, I would be lying if I didn't say that this man was cute. - Okay. - But, Mom, he wears a Rolex. Wait a minute, wait a minute, you went out with a man who wears a Rolex? - How the hell that happened? - I know. Actually I met him at the grocery store. And then he shows up at the caf. He happens to be the owner of my building. So, technically, this man is my landlord. What do you mean he owns your building? His company, the one I've been telling you about, that's the one that's trying to get me to buy my apartment. Oh, and you gonna buy? I can't do that and qualify for the loan with Sam for the Social Experiment. Wait, wait, wait. It seems like you got the best of both worlds. You play your cards right. You know what? I can't with y'all. I can't. I'm not going to. Baby, you don't let them get to you. Thank you, daddy. I appreciate that. I know you got my back. And I see you're still eating that rabbit food, huh? Really? First of all, it's not rabbit food. But I was thinking I could make some fried green tomatoes I just got from the farmers market. And maybe you could try some polenta fries tonight. Oh no, no, no, I'm not eating no placenta. That is so gross. No. And then the last time I heard about fried green tomatoes, ain't that a white movie? That's a white movie. Because in this house we eat fried chicken, we eat... we eat fried okra, French fries. Man, I know what you need. You need a steak on that plate. Daddy, please. That is too much. I'm telling you. Look, look at your mama, she lot of meat. Oh, you know what... Stop it. It's okay for you to love the meat, baby. Mm-hmm. I... I don't know how the girl lives without eating meat. Or eggs. Or cheese. Yeah, you get that mess from your momma's side of family. Oh here we go. This is crazy. I don't understand no matter how many times I tell you, eating steak every other weekend is not good for you, eating fried chicken every other day is not good for you, y'all don't want to listen. Listen to your folks talking all that stuff. How you gonna deny yourself a good piece of meat? Right, that's a good point. You take your blood pressure medicine today? I'm taking turmeric and hibiscus, I don't need that at all. Fool! Hibiscus is a tea. Tell him, girl. Boy, you... you know that reminds me I better go check my sugar. Right, check your sugar, for I had the Snickers. Pass the food down so I can eat. And you about to try these fried green tomatoes. Go ahead, get you some of them. Oh, looks like Neal just sent another postcard. Postcard? What's postcards got to do with anything? - It's nothing. - Right. Ah-huh. So, when you gonna move on, butterfly? I have. - Oh. - I have. - Oh, you've moved on? - Yes. That's why you said nobody smell like a pack of Kools. I... I do. Yeah, that's the problem, butterfly, you're just gonna sit there and lie to yourself. Now if you smoked a cigar, a cigar and a glass of cognac, now that's sexy. Smoke a cigar in front of a man, he gonna wanna have sex. - Okay. - Did you... Aunt Kathy, you are nasty. - Who is nasty? - Can you stop saying I smoke? You smell like a pack of Kools. They're nasty, they make you look cheap like a five dollar hoe, not like I'm calling you like a five dollar hoe, but maybe like a three-dollar one, you can smoke it like... Mom, I don't smoke Kools. I don't. Stop saying it, please. I don't. - Okay. - I thought you weren't smoking at all. Oh my gosh, all right. Okay, I have been stressed. I have been very stressed. I've been dating and it's been stressing me out a little bit. Okay. So you wanna... You wanna go out with that little... um, that Rolex boy? Honestly, I don't know. I mean he is very good-looking. But I don't know if he's my type. I'm seriously considering this whole online dating thing. I really am. Good-looking is a good sign. I don't what you're talking about. Aunty, looks are not everything. Let me explain something to you, little girl. You get up on that internet, you don't know what you're gonna get. Honey, they put up a picture of Boris Kodjoe but he won't show up. Looks are not everything, Aunty. - Oh, baby, but they help. - Mom. Whatever. Like, at the end of the day the truth is I just... I don't even know if I like him. All right, all right, enough, Quinn. So, all right, let's eat our food and leave my baby girl alone. See? Thank you, daddy. Mm-hmm. Listen, your mom... Yes, listen to him. All right, Tara, where's Niko? Oh, we... we broke up. Oh. Can none of my girls keep a man? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. At this rate I'm not gonna ever get any grandbabies. That's the problem. Y'all think y'all gonna find a perfect man. Y'all think your uncle, huh, you think he was my soul mate? Yes, Aunty, ya'll were married for like twenty years. And you loved him. Oh, child, please. I was only having a good time and got pregnant. I know. But I ended up making him my soul mate, okay? And I found happiness every day with him. Now, don't get me wrong. Your uncle, he was a good man. But he wasn't no Donny Hathaway. Turn off the lights Oh, that was Teddy. - Unbelievable. - Kathy, Kathy, go do something else. Girl, let me tell you something. I know you ain't nobody to tell me. You were pregnant too. That's why Paul married you so what? What, wait, what, pregnant? What are we talking about? Okay. So, no, here! Okay, wait a minute, whole... that's the whole point. The point is this. You've got to be happy every day. It's a job. You decide to be happy every day, no matter what man you're with. That is true. I don't understand that. What's she talking about? - Pregnant who... - That we are happy. We're happy, baby. - That's right. - We're happy. - Yeah, we... well, yeah, we are happy. - Okay. - That was some cute bullshit. - That's right. - Tell me one of those real things. - No, because I got no man. Good weekend? Yeah, it was cool. What... What are you doing down here? Your office got better coffee than mine. Plus, I need to show you these plans. Yeah. Well, I already looked at those plans. Plan on doing a walkthrough this afternoon in the neighborhood. Ooh, ooh! Who is that? That is the grocery store. Date night. You're stalking her already. Well, I'm checking out a website to get an understanding of her business model. Yes, she look like a model. Yeah. She got her own business? Yeah. G, don't be your usual self. What does that mean? - You fall fast. - No, I don't. Yes, you do. Shut up. All right, look, I'm gonna look at those tomorrow and I will follow up with you tomorrow. Go do some work. All right. Remember one thing though. - Vanessa. - Shut up. Hey, Greg. - I'm just trying to help your life. - Zoning. Get to zoning. Hey. The contractor will meet you at 10:00 a.m. at The Big Chair. Okay. The plumbers need you to sign off on the work at the D Street property. Perfect. - This came for you today. - Yeah? - Mm-hmm. - Thank you. Not to worry. Mm... Mh-hm. You need anything else, Shelby? Oh, no, Wesley, I'm good. I'll see you tomorrow. - All right. - Thank you. You're welcome. "Beautiful bracelet for a beautiful woman. I can't wait to see you again." Greg? Hmm. Okay... You know I had a silly idea thinking that dating a woman who reads books would be a lot easier. So, man, they all are crazy. What's she do? Did you hit yet? Come on, man, stop it. You know she wants me to go on this website. Wants me to create a profile to see if we both match. Of course, you won't. - Exactly. - Wait, did she create a profile? Yeah, I think so. She wants me to do the same thing, too. Oh, shit. She did create a profile, man. This is crazy. Oh, but she's so fine. I mean even in jeans and a t-shirt. Let's see. Damn. I mean look at those eyes, man. What you gonna do? I don't know, man. I'm telling you, she is a good woman. She got a great personality, man. You know, doing this website thing, man, that's just ain't my style. Okay, man, just answer C to all the questions and teach her ass a lesson. Lesson, huh? Yeah, you like her, right? Yeah, I do. And she's giving you the space to figure out to see if it works? Yes, she is. And we know that when we know we know. - Right. - And Matt, when he met Sonia, he said I knew I met my wife. That's what I'm saying. True. But now they are divorced. Right. Adulting's hard. Plus, we don't really know shit anyway. I just thought that, like, this love thing is supposed to be easy. No, it's not. I mean until it is. It's like anything else. We... you got to work at it. The harder you work, the easier it gets. Well, at least that's what my... my mama says every time she ask about grandkids. Yeah, I'll put in that work. Yeah, you know. You know the liquor make you sound smart. One thing I do know is you want to test fate. Well, maybe it's not meant to be, you know. You sound like a bitch. How tall are you, 6.2? Yeah. Where do you see yourself in the world? I see myself as a game changer. - Okay. - What? Let me put rich bitch. Rich bitch. Wait, what are you doing? Uh, uh, come on now. Hmm, I'm not buying into it. I'm not doing it. I just... I don't know, something bad just don't feel right, you know. Look, I'm gonna go here, I'm gonna take a shower and we gonna go out and we gonna do things old-fashioned way. You know what I mean? - Face to face. - Face to face. All right. I'll be creating no profile, man. Hey, my... my brother's keeper. - All day and night. - All right, brother, I got you. What the hell? Bina wanted to know if you got the pictures of the building. Yeah, I'm heading over there now. Okay. And she wanted to remind you of the budget meeting next week. Yeah, I know. Oh, boy, what the fuck. Yo G, what up, man? I'm at the office. Do you know I just got three things on that damn site you just signed me up for? Come on, man. I blame that on the whiskey, plus, I was trying to look out for my dude. You're not helping. I thought the point was to make a statement. I mean, you ain't been right since Vanessa left your ass. I was just trying to help you. But how is that helping? The whole idea was to answer the questions truthfully. Hey, man, go on a date, okay? I got to go. All right. I'll talk to you later. Oh, boy. Hello. Hey. How you doing, Shelby? Hey. How was your weekend? Oh, my weekend was just fine. Hung out with the boys. You? Uh, just did some family stuff and just some business things for the restaurant. Hey, actually I never got a chance to thank you for the bracelet. Ah, don't sweat it. Hey, you still on that Love Dot Com thing? What do you mean? I'm just thinking about the way people get matched up on that site. Did you do it? Yeah, but that's kind of what I wanted to call you about. - Wait, you did? - You see, Rodney... Did we match? Hold on, let me check. No. Well, I'm... I'm not sure. We didn't match. - No. Hey, Shelby, you... - Did you get any matches? - Yeah, I did but... - Really? What were they like? I couldn't really tell you because I never really looked. Um, well, I think you should. I'm sure the site would eventually match us, right? It has to be like a million people on the site, so. Yeah. Well, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. - Um, the other night... - How about we go on three dates? What? Three dates. How about we go on three Love Dot Com dates while we wait to see if the site matches us? You know what, okay, sure. Really? We'll do things your way. But I'm taking you out, too. Are there any rules to this? No, this is what you want. So I just hope everything turns out good for you. Okay. Um, I have my first date Saturday night. Okay. Awesome. Oh, boy. Hi, Vanessa. Greggy! Long time no see. Okay. So I'm waiting on my Uber, but who knew we will reconnect on Love Dot Com. And, of course, we matched. So, you wanna meet for dinner? No, Vanessa, we're not going out to dinner. Why? We're taking a break. Oh, Greggy, what does that mean? The site matched us. I mean maybe we got it wrong the first time. No, we got it right. Take care of yourself, Vanessa. Okay, bye. Bye. What's up, man? We going to Marvin tonight? I guess. You guess? What's wrong with you? Vanessa just called my phone because of you. That's funny as hell. What's she saying? It's not funny at all. Vanessa's in the past for a reason. I told her that that's not happening again so... So, we going out tonight. I'm gonna call Pete. How about you just get out? All right, I would be out. Green spaces and artist development, and you know we have to have enough units for artists. Artists are the ones that are gonna bring back the energy in the community, papa. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. So let me understand this. You spent 200,000 dollars on solar panels on an apartment building in the Southeast. Let me ask you something. Are you gonna at least offer some of these apartments to others outside of the affordable housing qualifications? I mean maybe just to make a little profit? I get where you're heading, dad. Okay, papa, you know the tenant laws in DC say that the tenants have first right refusal. Yeah, I know that. But you just then said that they need time to still qualify. Right. You know my team is a hundred percent committed to having tenant ownership. Now, I rack my brain every day trying to figure out ways how we can have mix incomes and still preserve the fabric of the community. Now you know DC's history has always been one in transition. True. What's white was once black. But the problem is that blacks never owned what they had. And these white folks are moving to Potomac, now they want their property back. They kept it in their family. But their families now they had been displaced; They have been here for forty years plus. And, papa, you're one of the smartest people that I know. You've done great investments, made a ton of money. And, yeah, I had a great life. But this is my chance, this is my opportunity to really preserve the fabric of this community. What fabric of... what community, Gregory? Carry-outs and crack houses? Oh, dad, really? Yes, really. Me and your mom did that and we broke our back so you wouldn't have to. Pop, the work that I'm doing is hard, okay, it's different. I know it's not something that you're used to, not what you were doing back in the '70s, no. But I believe that is God's work. You know the thing that separates a lot of people is just resources. And, yeah, it may be different but I believe that I am not breaking my back, I'm giving back. Son, listen, you are blessed. You're blessed. But you can't save everybody. You can't save the whole world. Pop, I need this money. I need you to loan me the money so I can stick to my plan. I have goals. If I could get these people on a five-year rent plan, then they can own what they have, which gives them a true stake in the community. I don't know. I don't know. Pop, this is an American Dream. Tomatoes right here. I'm sorry, give me one second. Okay. Hello. Hey, Shelby. Guess what, I did it. Did what? I signed up on the site. I have a date tonight with a teacher named Marcus. Oh, okay, that's cool. Um... You excited? Thank you. Yeah, I am. But just in case he's crazy, I wanted to let you know. Tara, why wouldn't you meet him out for coffee first? How do you even know these things? Are you serious? Every TV show, movie tells you to do that. It's like plot twists 101 to avoiding crazy. Yeah, well. I kind of signed up for the site, too. But I had a meeting at the restaurant first and we have a date tonight. What happened to Greg? Girl, I told you. I don't know, Greg and I are sort of seeing other people. You... you're stuck on stupid. You have a man that's wrapped in Chanel that can say urban redevelopment and mean it, and you're gonna find a dude that wears Birkenstocks. I don't get it. Tara, the optics, they have to make sense. Whatever. Greg is fine, and you've always been silly. You know that hippie dudes that keep it real can hurt your feelings too, right? Whatever. Look, I got the kids here, I got to go. Um, just call me if you need an out. Okay. Oh, and T, don't have sex with him on the first night, okay? Mind your business. Bye. Whatever. - I thought dessert was really good, too. - Yeah. I mean actually, honestly, dinner at that new vegan restaurant on 8th Street, I thought it was amazing. I liked it. It was pretty good. You know I was surprised that you drink. Why would you say that? Why? Well, I mean from your profile you just seemed very spiritual, very natural. Um, I am. I guess it just depends on what your definition of natural is. But I mean come on, wine even has antioxidants. Jesus drank wine. So there I was in front of my class trying to get my students' attention. My students get into a fight and this 6'4", 220 pounds 16 year old punches this little guy so hard he had a seizure. Oh, my God. What did you do? Call for backup. All teachers have walkie-talkies so we're able to call for backup. But did you break up the fight? I weigh a 165 pounds, it took all of us to control this kid once he got worked up. Wow. So what happened to the kid with the seizure? Oh, he went to the hospital and then he transferred. His parents pressed some charges against the kid obviously. Oh, I mean, they should, but I don't really think that jail is the answer. It's not. It's not. So then why do you work there? Somebody has to. It's all black and brown boys. They look like me. Wait. Where are you from? America. Marcus. Marcus. Say with me. - Marcus. Try the 'R'. - Marcus. Marcus. I was born in L.A. My... my mother's from Mexico and my father's from Chile. Okay, Mr. International. You know my body clock is still little off. Oh that's right, you said you just got back in town. Yeah, a few nights ago. I was on a yoga retreat in The Hague. And then I spent a few days in Amsterdam. You ever been? No. But, of course, you have. - What? - Yes, of course, you have. You got to go. I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world. So when did you start working with kids? Right after college. I mean it just... It makes me so sad these kids are filled with so much rage. Yeah, but can you blame them? What do you mean? The internet, TV, music, police brutality, income inequality, housing projects, I mean these kids are surrounded with rage. I mean, a little heavy on the first date, huh? That is a beautiful bracelet. I meant to say something to you about it at dinner. Oh. Thanks. I'm sure people often mistake the dark wood for Ebony, huh? But it's actually African Blackwood, right? Um, honestly, I... I... I really don't know. My spiritual teacher in Ghana gave me a piece to carry with me when I was going through some hard times. Your spiritual teacher, you used to live in Ghana? Yeah, my first trip was in 1999. And that's when I changed my name. Yohance means God's gift. Wow. African Blackwood is strongly aligned with the energy of Saturn. Really? Yeah, it acts as a conduit between the physical and the spiritual worlds. I mean that seems like a lot to expect from a piece of wood. I'm just... just kind of happy you didn't ask me what my sign was. It's about balance. You know the whole opposites attract thing? You... you believe in that? I believe the universe directs us on a path of uncertainties. It's in our choices that we find direction. I believe this said that we should seek out the answers in living rather than look for them. - Yeah. - Right. A conversation with substance. So, thank you. Dinner was nice. It was. It was. It was. I'm just so thankful because you never know what life will throw at you. I mean look at us. Us? Yeah, us. I mean it's a perfect a match. The universe brought us together so I could teach you about the power of your bracelet. Come on, I thought Love Dot Com did that. Well, that's just a magic. Yeah, where's your car? Ah, this is me. I mean it's a very deliberate piece. It makes a statement. And you don't strike me as a type of person who wouldn't know such things. Yeah, I mean it's just... It's amazing how we can have something and not even know what it is. So where'd you get it? Um... It was a gift. So what's his name? Beso, you know what beso means? - No. - Beso . Beso means kiss. - Kiss? Really? - Yeah. Yeah. Is that... that's what going on. I need the strength to deal with my students tomorrow. Oh, okay. What does that mean? I'll show you. - Text when you get home. - I will. Thank you. I guess this is where we part ways. I believe that's this time, yes. You know it takes a lot of courage to say that you aren't sure. You'll find your way. Thank you. But I'm sorry, it's just... Look, it's okay, I understand. Good luck. I catch a train to New York tomorrow, so email me if you need to talk. - All right? - Okay. Good night. Hey. Hi. - How is it going? - It's going good. It's going. - Yeah? - Yeah. You've been hanging out? It's the end of the summer in DC, there's nothing else to do but hang out. Dating? A little. Why? - Oh, you care? - I do. - Okay. - I do. Yeah, I've been hanging out a little bit myself, just a little bit. Boo. Boo. How's work? Would you end up doing about the residents? You know, I actually took your advice about knowing your audience. - What? - Yeah, I did. You said that I need to know my audience. The truth is everybody at the Chuck Brown Apartments they can't really afford to be in their apartment. So what I am gonna do is hold on to the property and work with them until they can. Yeah, so that we can have this model of mixed incomes, you know. Wow. So that the people there don't feel like they're displaced, especially the ones that have been there all along. An active participant and gentrification gets a conscience? I like it. - Yeah. - That's nice. I like you. Hey, what... what kind of wood is this? That's a African Blackwood. Why? I just don't get how the site didn't match us. Shelby, are you still on it? You know, for such an enlightened woman it can be a little shallow sometimes. You judge me on my car, you judge me on my watch, my lifestyle. Yeah, yeah I like nice things, but, baby, you know the truth is you don't even know what's important to me. Yeah, I have a BMW, but when I get pulled over by the police, I put my hands up at 10 and 2 o'clock and I pray and I say, "Yes, Sir," just like any other kid in the hood. Yeah, but... but if the site says that it matches you on... On your values and your interests, what does it say about us? Like Sam and Iris are perfect for each other. That's good for them. It's the internet, baby. Like, I enjoy spending the time with you. The time we spent together that... that was amazing. But what happens when... what happens when you get tired of me? Like what happens when my smile doesn't do the same thing that it does for you now? Rodney filled out the application drunk one night at my house. And he answered C to all the questions. Yeah. What? Why wouldn't you tell me that? Because I tried. When? All the time. But it's always not good enough or I didn't say the right thing or I didn't do the right thing. But that's like really dishonest. B, Shelby, I'd like... Maybe we should just stop. Okay? Let's just... Just stop. When you figure out what is real and how're you feeling, you come see me, all right? Wait, Greg, just... Hold... wait a second. Jesus, B. You okay? Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Shit. Look, this is gonna be the last time I ask you about the partnership agreement. Sam. You know what, when we're done this, just go get the forms. Yeah? Just like that? It's time. I think so. I know so. You know a good friend told me that it's in our choices that we find direction. I got to make a choice. I'm tired of this. - Thank you. - Oh my God. Thank you. I'll be right back. Aunt Kathy? Hey. Do you have time to talk? Keep it together. Damn! I was like, where are you? I'm so excited. Sister time. - I need this. - So do I. Pour me up, Sis. So, I was talking to Aunt Kathy and she said that you were a little sad. You okay? Girl, I had a really big decision I had to make. And you know how it is talking to Aunt Kathy. One minute, she's telling you a joke and in the same breath she's just giving you the truth. God, she's a mess. She is hilarious. What's the decision? We got the loan. Congratulations! That's exciting. Yeah. Cheers. So what about your apartment? Honestly, I just decided that I am gonna continue to rent and the whole home ownership thing I'll... I guess I'll just figure it out. How was your date? Your Love Dot Come date? Uh... It was interesting. Honestly, Sis, I learned that I need to take a break. Really? Yes, really. I mean come on. Like, you know me better than anybody else. The same old self-sabotaging passive-aggressive, not really ever knowing how to ask for what I want. Damn. I should have told Neal to stay. He would never have stayed. You were holding on to a ghost of an old relationship, B. Let it go. I know. I guess I just learned that... You really have to just ask for what you want. Yeah. Even if your voice starts to shake. I didn't do that. So what is it that you want? Okay. If there's one thing Aunt Kathy was very clear about was that Uncle Eddie could have been anybody. She chose to love the one that loved her. I just don't know if that's as simple as it sounds. It is. Anything harder than that is just not worth it. Oh, I got something I can beat that though. Bam! - Aw. - Bam. - Yes. - This looks cute. - I want the yellow. - I want the short one. Yes, yes, I agree with that. Cheers to that. It's WPGC 95.5. Love don't come easy. I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way. You should have got down with Love Dot Com. It'll help you out. But I'm gonna let this brother right here let you know. Hello, B. Hey. I threw something out there and it came back to me like a boomerang. |
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