Zapp, jail and bean pies.

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I was stopped at the light at Florence and Crenshaw with the sunset glaring blindly into my eyes when through my squint I noticed Zapp had an upcoming show. Songs like Heartbreaker and More Bounce To The Ounce had me reaching for the phone to see who wanted to roll to the concert when I noticed the sign underneath. "Receive calls on your cell phone from jail" with a number and discount. Once around 3 people blew their horns and screamed expletives indicating the light was green, I realized I wasn't seeing things. I needed to make a block and come back around to capture the moment. As I was standing on the corner getting the shot and was fortunate enough to get offered both a bean pie and someone's hand in marriage, I got annoyed. But not at the toothless charming man or the brotha offering me Tyler Perry bootleg dvd's. But at the realization that this sign would never be posted in Westwood, Brentwood or Hollywood, but was a no brainer in Inglewood.

I decided to call the toll fee number and see what the terms and conditions were. Turns out while a loved one is on lock down you can reach out and touch them... well through your wireless carrier. Just Talk Communications has several packages as low as $22.00, depending on your area and the correctional facility. How it works is you pre-pay, get an assigned number, your locked down boo uses that number to call collect, it is then routed to your cell at around 20 cents per minute and voila, you're connected. They even have a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glendale-AZ/Just-Talk-Communications-LLC/112001933065?v=wall&ref=search.

So... don't bother to thank me. I do this for all of you and yours. The Zapp concert came and went and seeing as though the founding members are deceased, I'm not sure it would have been a good look. I went back by that corner a few weeks later, the sign was still up, the dvd's were still being slung, but this time... I left with a bean pie.