True Florida Stories
The mechanic from the tire shop down the road who called me last February spoke a memorable, if eerie, line: “Is it possible there’s somebody living around here who hates you?” he said with a raspy voice … Read moreLife lessons from behind the wheel
Kathleen Pelkey is known to make kids cry. Grown men, too.
Some would consider it unbecoming. Others, endearing. It all depends on how you look at it — or rather, her … Read moreKathleen
I left behind a long list of teachers who despised me during my 12 years in the Florida public school system. Twenty-six kids sit under the fluorescent lights of a classroom, staring down at a sheet of manila paper. The Floridian humidity creeps in through the windows of our portable – a clever euphemism for the mobile homes that served as our cramped classrooms … Read moreThe Problem Child
The metamorphosis begins with a glue stick tube straight to the eyebrows. Then, three shades of foundation are painted over every pore … Read moreIn the spotlight
I rolled down our car’s window and extended my gloved hand. Another gloved hand gave me a high school diploma, and a muffled voice congratulated me. My mom drove out of the bus loop where our graduation ceremony was hosted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The brown brick buildings that housed the final years of my adolescence shrunk in the rear view mirror for the last time. Ahead of me: the real world … Read moreA love letter to odd jobs