09/20/1985
I did have to grow up fast. I was born and raised in Cambridge MA. At this time in life I was going to the East End House after school program and living off of Seventh Street right by the court house. Every morning was the same routine. I would get out of bed, brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get dressed. I believe today I might have been running a little bit behind schedule because as I made my way to the bus stop I noticed none of my other friends were there, and I stood there a long time before I finally realized that I must have missed the bus. I headed home and when I got there I couldn't find my mom.
I didn't know exactly what I should do. I was only seven years old and this was the first time that I have ever missed the bus. I decided to head back to the bus stop hoping the bus would come, but it didn't. I began to cry. Cambridge Street was a very busy street. The cars were making their daily route. All the parking spots were filled and the bakery across the street had the aroma of sweet pastries. The aroma was not enough today to calm my nerves. I sat on the corner with my head between my knees sobbing like a little baby. Then suddenly I heard a siren and looked up and saw a police cruiser.
The police rolled down the window and an officer asked me, “Are you OK little girl?” I replied, ”No, I missed my bus.” Then the officer asked, “What school do you attend?” I replied, “The Martin Luther King Jr.” He responded, “C'mon get in. I'll take you there.” I hoped into the cruiser and got a ride to school by a real nice cop. When I entered the vehicle it smelled like leather and pine, and there was a cage between the officer and I. When he pulled up to the school it felt wicked weird, to be honest I didn't want anyone to think that I got arrested, so as soon as I got out I slammed the door and ran to the principal’s office and immediately explained what happened.
Ms. Carisle was my teacher and my cousin Michelle was in my class. We had a math test, and for some reason my mind was distracted today. I was always distracted easily. If someone was talking around me I would hear all the noise that was surrounding me all at once which was very overwhelming. I could never focus on one thing at a time. On all my report cards every teacher would make the same comments. Does not pay attention in class, stares into space, and talks too much. What nobody realized at the time was that I was having petit mal seizures. I was talking out of turn because my thoughts were going a mile a minute and it took a while for my brain to catch up to my mouth, for I suffered with a mental learning disability called ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
I was a visual, not an auditory learner. I almost didn't pass any grade, but the child left behind. Mr. Stevenson, our vice principle, interrupted Ms. Carisle to ask to dismiss Michelle and I from class. This was a special day for us. Michelle and I attended the same academy taught by Debbie Mason. We jumped in a cab, the cab driver was Michelle's uncle. I told Michelle, ”Funny! I arrived to school in a cop car and got picked up by a cab!” The cab took us into Boston and dropped us off in front of the John Hancock building and our mothers were awaiting our arrival when we got there.
The buildings were huge, they towered like rocket ships. Inside was so glamorous and fancy. As soon as I arrived my mother started rushing me and I asked my ma, “What's going on? What am I doing here?” Mom said, “You have to hurry up and get dressed, you have your dance recital today, it's today!” My dancing performance was based on the movie theme Peter Pan. I was an Indian who had to hoot & holla in an Indian circle. Which was nice and I had fun. Any excuse to get out of school was fine by me.
03/26/1989
Now I am 10 years old and Mr. Peck is my teacher. Today we are preparing for a whale watch field trip and my mom is supposed to chaperon. I had her sign and date the permission slip. I got myself ready as usual the daily ritual except this time I had to wake-up my mom. I cracked open her door and it was like entering a cave. I shook my Ma to wake her up, but she groaned and turned over. I said to her, ”C'mon Ma. You have to wake up. You promised that you would chaperon my field trip today. Field trip. Today.” My Ma retorted, “Yeah, yeah.” I started making my way to school thinking there is no way she is going to get up, and I started to feel disappointed When I got to class an signed into homeroom; guess who decided to show? My Ma!
I almost could not believe my eyes. Mr. Peck assigned us groups and so many classmates wanted to be in my Ma's group. All my friends in my class told me that my Ma was so pretty and cool. This made me and my Ma feel really good. We went on a whale watch to the Island of Shoal’s. Mr. Peck set up a challenge for each group to do a scavenger hunt. We collected rocks, stink weed, the carcasses of species, fossils, and grass and passed them off to my Ma to store. Our group won for we were able to collect all the items off the list first :)
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