A Vivid Childhood Memory
(Note: I got the idea for this from a friend's MySpace blog)
In the early '90s, my family and I were on our way to the L.A. Cathedral—the old cathedral that was big and white before they made the new one with some crazed modern architect. I had been to L.A. before, Hollywood even, where numerous types of people walked about, but because of heavy traffic on the streets that day, I had time to observe those around us. The sidewalks were packed with people, trash scattered around them. I thought I was in New York or something. Long Beach and Lakewood never looked like this.
I heard yelling outside of the vehicle. A black man, afro frizzed out, was screaming as he stomped around on the sidewalk. His lanky legs were covered with blue pajama pants and he wore a matching blue long-sleeved shirt. Also his red underwear was worn on the outside of his pants. A red cape flapped as he moved back and forth in his area of the sidewalk.
My younger brother, who was about 6 or 7 at the time, noticed the red diamond on the man's chest, a red 'S' centered inside on a yellow backdrop.
"Look! Superman!" he said with wide eyes, pointing.
After expletives spilled from the man's mouth and he threw a bicycle tire into traffic, my mom said cautiously, "Uh, I don't think that's the real Superman."
The light turned green, and our white mini-van with wood paneling idled through the intersection towards our destination to stop at the next light.
In the early '90s, my family and I were on our way to the L.A. Cathedral—the old cathedral that was big and white before they made the new one with some crazed modern architect. I had been to L.A. before, Hollywood even, where numerous types of people walked about, but because of heavy traffic on the streets that day, I had time to observe those around us. The sidewalks were packed with people, trash scattered around them. I thought I was in New York or something. Long Beach and Lakewood never looked like this.
I heard yelling outside of the vehicle. A black man, afro frizzed out, was screaming as he stomped around on the sidewalk. His lanky legs were covered with blue pajama pants and he wore a matching blue long-sleeved shirt. Also his red underwear was worn on the outside of his pants. A red cape flapped as he moved back and forth in his area of the sidewalk.
My younger brother, who was about 6 or 7 at the time, noticed the red diamond on the man's chest, a red 'S' centered inside on a yellow backdrop.
"Look! Superman!" he said with wide eyes, pointing.
After expletives spilled from the man's mouth and he threw a bicycle tire into traffic, my mom said cautiously, "Uh, I don't think that's the real Superman."
The light turned green, and our white mini-van with wood paneling idled through the intersection towards our destination to stop at the next light.
posted by matty at 4:24 PM
1 Comments:
Happy Birthday!
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