Kush frowned and scowled when he saw me walking through the door of White Castle. I stood there for a moment staring at a young man I thought I'd never see again. He was young and healthy. He still had all of his teeth, and his looks hadn't been ravaged by crack, meth, heroine, ecstasy, and countless other drugs.

"What's up, Kenya?" he called from across the nearly empty restaurant.

A little white boy turned to look at me as if he didn't realize that Kenya was more than ...