When my grandfather died, my grandmother let us borrow one of her photo albums. One of my projects for this week was to scan in pictures, so that we could send back the album to Grandma. It evoked several different feelings. Nostalgia. Sentimentality. Confusion. Sadness. Happiness.
Going through the albums, I saw pictures of people whom I didn't know or saw pictures of people whose names were long forgotten by me. Will people go back through my photo albums and wonder who I was? One day, will my anonymous picture be used in
someone's vintage collage depicting life in the "olden days?" Will they know that I had a brother? What will they take away when they see these images? Will my memory persist long after I am gone?
Left: Sheila (my sister) and I stand outside in our front yard for a picture. Weren't we the most fashionable kids ever? I almost wish I could find a pair of sunglasses like that again. They're very hip!
Right: My dad and I were relaxing on the couch. Decades later, my parents still have that same brown sectional sofa. It is as soft, comfortable, and plush as it was then. I remember drawing pictures on the back of it by running my finger against the grain of the fabric.
Left: This is my family. My mom, my dad, me (in his arms), and my sisters, Cynthia and Sheila. At this time period, my brother was most likely the one behind the camera. We are all dressed up for Easter Sunday.
Right: My brother, Dwayne, holds me, as my sisters stare at us. He is the one that named me. I only discovered this recently. I had always thought that I had been named after crappy presidents.
Above Left: Sheila, Cynthia, me, and Babyin/Natalie playing out in the yard. Above Right: Me as the Number 1 Champ!
Right: Again in the yard, Sheila and I were playing outside.
Left: Here we are again on the brown sectional with mom. The funny thing about this picture is that years and years later, we all kiss on Baby One's hand just like Sheila is doing to mine in the picture.
Right: Not so different than a few days ago, here is a picture of me collecting treasure. In the picture, I'm with my cousin, James. My grandparents used to have a mobile home and would park next to this huge tree that would drop these amazing seed pods that would rattle when you shook them.
Above Left: When I was younger, I used to be an award-winning Tae Kwon Doe champ. The funny thing about this picture, besides the super hot special effect is that the photographer asked me to kick lower, as I could kick straight up. I actually could kick so high that I would hit myself in the face. Above Right: Even up until the time that my brother left, I used to look up to him and idolize him. It has been over sixteen years since he went missing.Right: This is what late autumn used to look like in Florida. Here Sheila and I pose outside our old house on Howell Branch Road.
Just before I left the doctor's office, the assistant said, "Oh, you forgot something." She then handed me a handful of the new NYC condoms. The blood-loss must have prevented me from telling her that my kiosk has been closed for some time and that I was celibate. But I took them anyway and shoved them in my jacket pocket.
