who

I was born in Oklahoma and later moved to Mississippi, but the first place I truely called home was Macon, Georgia. From the beginning of trusted memory my best friend, Tracy Yang, to whom I was two years senior, and I climbed trees, drew pictures and read books with one another. As an only child, I considered her my sister, and as a young girl on her way to Memphis, Tennessee I knew I would never have as good a friend to which I still can attest. It did not help that my mother was not there to help me adjust to the move or smooth things over between me and my tyrant of a father, as her mother had fallen down the stairs in her sister's home in El gin, Texas. For three months Stokes (my father) lived in a motel near the Wolfchase mall and I was tossed between that motel and my dying grandmother. There were some advantages to the move from my perspective however. Since my father was getting a better job with more pay, we could afford to live in what seemed to me, a mansion. Better yet, we had a pool.

That's not what I really love about Memphis though. The things that I grew a true affinity to were the parks... four within walking distance of my house, and the woods directly behind me. I love all the space that, of course isn't limited to the Memphis area, but was lacking from my previous residence. For this reason, once I have the opportunity to move, I will. I will search for all the things that I grew to love in Memphis in a place without all the things that I cannot stand. Things both personal to my own experience and those shared by the public... crime, political corruption, awful race relations. I can't say that i see the same things as Cat when I think of interactions in Memphis however. What I see is a person who looks at me with disgust without even knowing my name. What I hear is "no offense" after the realization hits someone that a Caucasian is present. What I feel is an elephant in the room that is inappropriate to address, and is pushing me into a corner. I will happily leave that feeling behind as I have experienced it in no other place. As for the things that are personal, I suppose I will keep them that way.