It was from the 1992 Ernest Dickerson film, Juice, that Holly learned of the cute man, with the milk chocolate skin named Tupac. Ooowee! Holly was in love! Most of Holly's friends liked the cute, light skinned actor in Juice, Khalil Kain.
Nobody paid attention to Tupac. Holly was the lover of the underdog. The black sheep. The loose canon. Even as a working and rather conservative mother, Holly pined for Tupac. Raw and gritty. Troubled, but thoughtful, Tupac encompassed passion for life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Holly found Tupac to be a true preacher and prophet of her time. In fact, there are still classes at the the acclaimed Cal State Berkeley discussing
The Life & Legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur
Imagine the devastation Holly felt when Tupac succumbed to gun shot wounds suffered in Las Vegas in 1996. Not normally a freak for celebrities, Holly had to pull her car over when she heard news of his passing. The flood of tears was overwhelming and began to cloud her vision. What a heartbreak. After 10 or 15 minutes, Holly pulled herself together and continued driving on.When she began her practice of giving a shout out to those who had gone before her, Holly made a special ritual for Tupac. "I love you Tupac Amaru Shakur" Holly would offer toward the heavens whenever a Tupac song came on the radio. More than a year after his death, Tupac stayed in heavy rotation in the Los Angeles area market. Holly continued faithfully giving shout out after shout out. "I love you Tupac Amaru Shakur."
One weekend while working at the law firm of Cheatem & Cheatem, Holly took a phone call on the main switchboard and her life changed forever.
Holly: Cheatem & Cheatem. *singing*
Caller From Germany: Is this L.A.? (in a thick European accent)
Holly: Who would you like to speak with, sir?
Caller From Germany: I'm trying to reach L.A.
Holly: So you are just trying to call Los Angeles?
Caller From Germany: Yes. I called Two. One. Three...
Holly: And you just made up the rest, right?
Caller From Germany: Yes. My life is shit.
Holly: So let me get this straight, you wanted to call L.A. so you dialed a random two-one-three number and your life is shit?
Caller From Germany: "Jess!"
Since Holly was experiencing down time on the switchboard, she decided to amuse herself by entertaining the thickly-accented man on the other line whose life was shit. In the next couple of sentences, Holly and the caller found that each was very fond of Tupac. The fascination was turned up on both parts. Holly with her shout outs "I love you Tupac Amaru Shakur!" The caller was on a whole other level with his love and fascination of Tupac. Check out this devotion. This is a picture sent by the caller in Germany to Holly, some random chick at a random number in Los Angeles:
Now that is dedication. Check out the detail on those "tattoos" and the selection on the television.
Was it Tupac's spirit that brought the two together? They were separated by continents but bound by love for a fallen brother; his music, his art, and his life.
"I love you Tupac Amaru Shakur" and thanks for bringing two friends together. Holly and the caller continued to be friends through miles of separation, different circumstances and different locations.
Even before Facebook, two people from totally different regions and backgrounds became friends. Commonality through love and music and a random L.A. phone number, created a friendship with no ordinary love.
More than 10 full years had past with no word from her friend. Holly thought she'd never hear from him again. As luck would have it, Holly's friend recently located her on Facebook and the friendship resumes. Thank you Facebook!
Friend: Only God can judge me.
Holly: I know.
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