NEW / NATIVE 2050 by Josy Jones Disclaimer: The following is a work of realistic fiction for our special 2050 issue, published in June 2021. These stories are meant to spark imagination, not forecast the future of Akron. NATIVE Name: Jordania “Jordy” Sheppard Occupation: Student, Saint V! Don’t let the halo fool ya. Age: 17, well, I’ll be 17 in a month so I’m practicing saying it. Hometown: Akron, Ohio Current Neighborhood: Uhm - the slippin-est* neighborhood in Akron. West Hill.
20 | The Devil Strip
What do you wish was more on Akronite’s radar? I wish more Akronites came to the games at Saint V. Like, it’s a Catholic school or whatever, but that doesn’t mean we’re soft, ya know? The sky-hockey games are slippin’, for sure. The battle of the bands! This electrobanjo and flute hip-hop duo won last year. Tons of action. Slip worthy*. Check us out! What is your favorite local cultural asset? I think my favorite local, cultural asset is the community fire pit at the bottom of the Glendale Steps. They say those steps are super old, or whatever. Across from the steps, there’s a huge pit that the community helped to build. It’s HUGE. Like big-big. At West Fest, it’s
really cool. We all walk down and tell stories, play music, dance, make wishes. It didn’t used to be there...it’s been there as long as I can remember tho. Ma’ always says it came around at the right time, when West Hill was discovering itself, ya know? West Akron got a splash park, and we got a huge fire pit. Can’t play in a splash park in the winter tho, so jokes on them! LLAH!* I don’t like them anyway, our schools are rivals and they beat my equestrian team in the high jumps last year. It’s fine. When did you fall for Akron? That’s easy. My family took a trip to Detroit when I was like 12. I hated it and wanted to go back home immediately. I knew then that Akron was home, and everywhere else was trying to be like us. Why leave?
june 2021 · Vol 9 · Issue #6
Where in Akron do you like to escape? I can’t tell you that, or my mom would come snooping! BUT I really like to ride my horse, Blossom. I got her for my 15th birthday. She’s pretty great. Kind of a jam, but still great. I like to take Blossom out on walks at night. The click-clack of her hooves is relaxing. Is that weird? Why should everyone try your favorite restaurant? My favorite restaurant is obviously going to be Donuts and Dialogue. Like, yes, my mom owns it. But also, like, I’ve met some slippin’ people there. You can go in and just drink coffee and get school work done OR you can go into the chat rooms and meet random people. I walked into the chat room last week and met this guy Kev from
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