Chapter 9: I’ve Never Been to Me

I was born on 03/25/1965 in Memphis, Tennessee. My father was away in the Air Force, and my mother, and my older brother lived with my grandparents. My uncle lived in the house as well. I always liked soft pretty things. My grandmother owned a beauty shop; it was built onto the back of the house. It was my job to cater to my grandmother’s customers. My primary job was to bring them ice water. I listened to the ladies’ gossip and laugh, although I was only four or five. I understood who and what they were talking about. I knew Mrs. Jones’s husband was a playboy, and Mr. Harris drank up all his paycheck every Friday. I remember my nostrils being filled with the smell of burning hair from the hot comb, and the hair pullers, and the smell of the chemical hair relaxers. My brother would be at school, and my mother would be at work. I catered to and listened to the ladies all day long. When my brother would return from school, he did not play with me, but instead called me sissy and a punk. I had no idea what the words meant, but I knew that they could not be good. I enjoyed playing dress-up with my grandmother’s beautiful clothes. I had no shame, nor was I embarrassed. I was simply playing, and it was fun. I usually played alone.