On the Surface

Like Black Orpheus Michael made the sun rise. He was creative, sensitive, intelligent and handsome. Everyone he knew was attracted to him and was influenced by him. He taught his friends about Miles Davis, Alfred Camus and Romare Bearden. He taught them how to be moral, socially conscious people. Paul Kline and Peter Eastman saw Philly through Michael's eyes. He walked them through Philly, around Girard College's wall, through Father's Divine's dining hall, pass City Hall and on to Robin's Bookstore. He took them to the jazz clubs and the Art Museum. He walked them through North Philly, through the ghetto and up to Chestnut Hill. If Michael was all these things, "Why was he blown up in his car like some mobster in a gangland hit?"