My grandma and Aunt Marjie (she was my grandmas aunt).I spent time with them when mom was at work. Dress up and poker.

Horrifying experiences in school. My mom always sick or asleep. Foodstamps.

The park across the street from our apt. The kids from my complex. Our sleepovers while parents got drunk.

The apt. pool. I'm a water baby! Lots of swimming.

Hanging with the popular teens. Getting high. Rexing at the roller rink. Being unpopular.

Having the "cool" mom because my friends could get high at my house.

Horses. Riding lessons that I worked off shoveling manure (child labor). Being obsessed with them. I finally have my own today.

Music, which saved my sanity. Dancing in my room.

Discovering Prince.

ConsciousContact said:

Thank you, ConsciousContact...could you elaborated on the part I quoted? Sounds interesting.

[..]We were VERY poor, but we still had ways of making good things happen.

I grew up in El Paso, TX. It's a military town on the border with Mexico (yeah, I crossed the bridge to go drinking in Juarez when I was under-aged; everyone did).

There wasn't much culture in El Paso other than a distinctively hispanic feel to everything, but this was sort of cancelled out by the military feel of everything--El Paso is built around Ft. Bliss, a very large army base.

I learned to switch between having a Spanish accent and an English one depending on who I was hanging out with...most of my Spanish came from working as a dishwasher with the other po' folks.

I spent 4 years in the ROTC program in high-school, which in that town was a pretty big deal. I learned a lot about leadership and discipline there...I was even commander of the military drill-team in my senior year, and we were good!

I never go back, though, because gangs and crime have taken over the city. It's a real scary place now and I have no ties. My current home (Norfolk area) feels "right" somehow perhaps because of the huge military bases here, though I never became a military person--I cannot stand authority figures anymore.

So in answer to the original question...I'm not sure...I don't feel tied to any one particular place. But it was fun to share!

Had a girl friend (Japanese) who has family there (Hawaii) and lived there for a while. She totally got me into Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Rice. There's a place I go to for "local food" all the time now.
You really had to be local to get Frank DeLima though..
She used to crack up and I would look at her like she was crazy...
[This message was edited Wed Jan 22 17:37:07 PST 2003 by cracknbush]

Hey Teller! I grew up in EL Paso too. I live in Los Angeles now. Can't really agree with you on the "gangs and crime" taking over the city though...I was there last year and it was still the same, sleepy, boring town. The sunsets are still glorious and the nights are still wild with the sparkle of stars.

I do agree on the 'culture' aspect of it. Not much there. Not much to do but growing up was fun and unique because of Juarez. Things like keggers in the desert were a bit boring since you could always cross the border and get wasted: remember 'drink and drown,' 'thirsty thursdays?' Shots of sizeable tequila could be had a place called "HardTimes" for just a dime. Damn, how much like an alcoholic that makes me sound...lol...

I grew up in L.A. When the crack situation was first becoming a problem. I saw peoples lives destroyed, Good people. I saw good children having to grow up fast and raise themselves in a really rough area. I had two friends killed in one summer. I have been shot at and chased by people that really wanted to kill me. It was also during this time that i learned to think for myself and not always trust the government or the police. Very little was done during a time when people needed them most. I survived it all. I made myself one promise. That i would always have love for those not as fortunate and that i would do my best to help the next generation never have to suffer a life like that.
From all of this i have found a love of life SUPREME.




Living the edit
[This message was edited Wed Jan 22 18:38:03 PST 2003 by theC]

I grew up in L.A. When the crack situation was first becoming a problem. I saw peoples lives destroyed, Good people. I saw good children having to grow up fast and raise themselves in a really rough area. I had two friends killed in one summer. I have been shot at and chased by people that really wanted to kill me. It was also during this time that i learned to think for myself and not always trust the government or the police. Very little was done during a time when people needed them most. I survived it all. I made myself one promise. That i would always have love for those not as fortunate and that i would do my best to help the next generation never have to suffer a life like that.
From all of this i have found a love of life SUPREME.




Living the edit
[This message was edited Wed Jan 22 18:38:03 PST 2003 by theC]