I Remember My Green Shoes

I was growing like a wild weed at a very early age. Along with my height, my feet also kept on growing. I had a favorite pair of green tennis shoes that I kept out growing. I loved those shoes. It was a very sad day in my life when the shoe store no longer carried my size…

"I Kept Growing & Growing..."

I was always pretty tall, I had actual growing pains when I was younger, nothing too horrible, but enough to be noticed. I seemed to have crazy growth spurts, pictures of me with other kids my age were always entertaining, I towered over everyone. I got called “giraffe”, “long legged grasshopper”, & “Olive Oil.”   Good times …  :-)

"La Caja (the Box)"

Ah yes, the box. I don’t know how or where we got a hold of these massive boxes, but on occasion we did and it would be the best adventure ever! It usually involved me, my sister, the dog, and a few neighborhood kids. We would all trade turns getting in the box, while the others would roll the box around, and yes, on occasion we would even throw the dog in the box too. I’m still not sure how we survived, a bump and a bruise here or there, but nothing serious. The dog always came out unharmed, but my God! How we laughed till we cried! It’s amazing how life’s simplicities are a source of such happiness at that age. The box was used for various other games such as: fort, castle and house, but one of my all time favorites was the mystery box game. All the kids got in the box, closed the lid, and quietly waited. And just as we heard footsteps, we would jump out of the box scaring an innocent bystander to death.

Everybody knows that New Orleans is known for it’s yummy food. I will admit that my love for Cajun did not fully develop till we moved to Florida. My fondest memories of New Orleans’ foods were the beignets and the Sno-Balls. For those who don’t know, a beignet is a french version of a doughnut smothered in powdered sugar that comes accompanied with a yummy cup of cafè au lait (that’s fancy talk for coffee with milk.) Mmmmm, it was impossible to neatly eat a beignet. The powder sugar would somehow make it to places that powder sugar was never meant to be, like in your eye for example.

Then there were the Sno-balls. This was a perfect treat for those hot, thick, humid, New Orleans summers. The best way to explain a Sno-ball is like this: they’re not as hard as a snow cone but not as runny as an Icee, it was like actually eating fresh snow. Even at the young age of 5, I knew that eating a Sno-ball was exactly like eating a real life snowball (I didn’t see real snow till my early 20s but I somehow knew I was right). I always ordered strawberry, on occasion I would be adventurous and order watermelon (which tasted a lot like strawberry. ) The syrups they poured on the Sno-balls were just tangy and sweet, and sometimes for .25 cents more you could get condensed milk poured on top of that, like there wasn’t enough sugar in a Sno-ball to begin with.

Self Portrait: Untitled

I was born with poor vision: severe astigmatism and severe nearsightedness.  At the age of 4, I was told I had to wear glasses. I was fairly defiant and didn’t wear them like I should of, but at the age of 9 I got sat in the back of the classroom and that’s when I noticed that I couldn’t read the board. From that day, I wore them everyday. I struggled with my vision all through childhood. It was pretty rough having people look at my face through coke bottle glasses. I got teased and stared at, but I think the worst part was the looks of sympathy. I created this image to represent the numerous eye charts I’ve stared at in my lifetime, the blurriness, and the resentment I had towards my vision for so long. Of course, my view on that has changed. I still have bad vision, but I’m thankful that the vision I have is correctable. Today, I put my contacts in everyday, and everyday I thank God that after I put them in, I can see and then I smile.