I may never be able to watch The Wire again

Robin called me at 3am. Normally, I'd be up at 3am on a Saturday night, but this past month has been unusual in oh-so-many ways. I did not answer the phone. I called this afternoon to see what drunkeness I might have missed. Her brother, my ex-boyfriend, answered the phone. He has moved back to Arkansas from Baltimore.

We chatted for a bit, and I asked him about life in Baltimore. The stories I had been hearing from his sister were scary enough, but I wanted a firsthand account. I lead with "Oh, I hear that you lived in the same neighborhood where 'The Wire' is filmed. That's such an amazing show." I am a dumbass. Perhaps I was thinking that HBO just made the neighborhood seem scary as hell, but the residents were really actors doing a fantastic job of playing oppressed minority figures.

The ex responded with the statement that he could never watch the show again, but that if I continued to do so, I could probably see him as an extra in an episode or two. He then recounted life in the neighborhood, including the firebombing of a house with 13 inhabitants, 7 of which died. Or the shooting while he was sitting on the back porch, and making eye contact with the assailant. My 'favorite' was the story of the shooting in the middle of North Avenue, where police had taped off the crime scene, and the body was still in the street. North Avenue is a busy thoroughfare, and traffic started backing up. Apparently someone drove up to the police tape and started honking as if the body should be moved immediately.

I am not sure how I'm going to be able to watch The Wire again. Maybe my HBO will be canceled before I have to make that choice.