Childhood Memories

13.) My favorite toy was this stuffed bear named "Button". I would take him everywhere as a kid, didn't matter where. He'd join me as we went through the supermarket, the library, and any out-of-city trip. I was a baby blue bear, with a soft brown head. It had one of those white baby-cuff things on. He got coined as "Button" after my old dog Snowball mangled him. It ended up destroying his black button nose, leaving the plastic nub of his nose as the only thing that remain. Thus, he name became Button. His stuffing was distributed weirdly through his fluffy body. From me dragging him by either his legs or his head, there was zero stuffing left in his neck, as it all went up into his head, or down into his extremities. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't evenly distribute the stuffing, and his body always stayed like that. Despite his wear, I could never bring myself to get rid of Button. He just meant too much to me. I think he's in one of the safe boxes somewhere in my home.
23.) One of my interesting relatives is my Aunt Mandi. I admire her a lot. She's just one of those amazing people. My mom and her are seventeen years apart in age, and she's fourteen years younger than her. Therefore, they have quiet the age gap. My grandma died of breast cancer shortly after she was born, and it was just her and my grandpa for a while. However, she became one of those truly great people despite that adversity. She ended up being the valedictorian of her class, and got a full ride to her university. Then, she proceeded to get her Bachelor's degree in mathematics and her Master's in English. She was going to be an English teacher, but then promptly discovered that it wasn't the career for her. Now she's working at calculating bonuses for her company. However, she still visits her family often, and it never feels like I'm forgotten. She's one of those people that despite everything, you know you can have her assurance.
30.) I got grounded in the fifth grade for bringing a glass of milk upstairs. I often would just forget where I'd leave dishes, so eventually a pile began to accumulate around the upstairs. Thus, my parents made it a rule that I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything up there. One day, I decided to be a wild child and brought my glass of dairy to my room. My dad ended up catching me drinking the contraband substance, so I got grounded for a week from T.V. and computer.
38.) I collected rocks as a child, not because I was a mini-geologist or anything, but I just liked the way they looked and felt. In the third grade, we did a unit on fossils, and had to find a rock outside that we thought had a fossil in it. I brought mine inside, and notice there was a small hole in the mineral. I stuck my pencil inside, and felt around. The moment I took the pencil out, I noticed something to both my and my teacher's dismay: a spider about the size of a dime. Despite the panic the arachnid brought to our class, this memory always stuck out to me. From about then on, I started collecting rocks from fields and riverbeds and stored them on the lowest shelf on my bookshelf, to show my prized collection to the world.

Through the Glass

Through the Glass
The blossoming of summer flowers
and a few clusters of trees create a shield
against the crumbling outside world.
A glance over our fence and  into my neighbor's yard
and can catch a glimpse of their well-manicured lawn,
a couple of blue jays fluttering int he birdbath,
and their one of their many cats, this one a deep ebony
attempting to sneak through their hydrangeas.
Light usually shines though the canopy of trees
but today's overcast
and there is no sunshine left for me to use.
Time always finds a way to leak through.
A light salmon is considering departing the sky
and letting the ash take over for the night.
Between the shades of lotus and shadow
a gentle melody can be heard from an unknown source
and a hidden pile of memories.

Places to Be

  
     A local pub in Boston, Philadelphia is featuring a date between a a man and a woman. The man is rapidly approaching his middle ages, attempting clutching onto the last of his youthful days with both hands. His suit's still crisp from the dry cleaning, with a couple of clean seams from where he ironed earlier that evening. Meanwhile, the girl still has much of her youth ahead, with her hair ablaze in waves of ember and the odor of cheap perfume and cigarettes. The place is still from the festivities of the evening passed; no one with places to be visits a bar at 4:30 on a Sunday. 

     The date's not exactly going well. He's coldly crossing his arms while maintaining a scrutinizing demeanor that demands interest. His eyes could gaze into your soul, they're so piercing, as if he's trying to analyze and judge the situation. She's sitting away from him, her eyes glazed over from disinterest. This is her third date this week, and this one's obviously the worst by far. I mean, look at him, he's looking at me like I'm a murder suspect, not a potential lover. At least the Thursday date got her a free steak dinner and a bottle of wine, this is only going to get her a couple of drinks. The aging man behind the counter asks if he can top her off, and she rejects it. Based on how this is going, she'd rather not drive home completely smashed.

     He pays for the check, and he's clearly not interested it this girl either. Any girl that wears a party dress like that on a Sunday night isn't exactly his type. When she stood up, she looked like a deer that was learning how to walk. High heels and alcohol are not a good combination. He picks up their tab, and they both depart, leaving before the passerbys can  judge their demeanors from the window.

Choosing Paper / Telephone

Choosing Paper

Harmony is not the quiet groves.

It's where convention is left unlaced,

the unobtainable calm,

and only passing storms.

Peace defeats war.

War defeats Peace.

War beats us.

We beat peace and war.

Like a tragic game

of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Only one catch:

Everyone uses the rocks.

When everyone could win.

If we choose to stop wielding rocks

and opt for the paper.

Telephone
"Hello, I need to get everyone here for a business meeting on Sunday to discuss when we're going to plan the end of year party. Everyone needs to brings  their business memos and dress appropriately."
"Hey, John said that everyone needs to be here on Sunday for a business meeting to plan the end of year party. Everyone needs to bring the usual stuff and dress appropriately. "
"Yo, John said that we're having a end of year party this Sunday to discuss a business meeting. He told us all to bring what we thought we needed and to dress casually"
"Did you hear that  John's having a party this Sunday? I think I'm going to wear my yellow sundress, and I'm bringing the fruit tray."
"Hey guys, I heard that John hosting a Super Bowl Sunday party here this weekend. I'll order us some pizzas."
"Wait, wait about sundaes, I just kinda lost focus. Oh well, I guess I'll just bring a tub of Ben and Jerry's to the party at John's house Sunday".

When Paul from accounting showed up on his door-step Sunday morning wearing a soda-drinking hat, John just looked at his constantly buzzing phone from his coworkers asking about the meeting.
"Ugh, again"

 

Keith Haring

Keith Haring, born on May 4th, 1958, was born Reading Pennsylvania. He was a major artist and social activist, and found a way to make the world his canvas. He died on February 16th, 1990.

Allen and Joan Haring raised Kieth, Kay, Karen, and Kristen. His father was an engineer, as well as an amateur cartoonist, while his mother stayed at home. He drew a lot of inspiration from Dr. Seuss, Looney Tunes and Walt Disney, and spent his time practicing his drawings with his father.

As a teenager, he hitchhiked across the country selling vintage T-shirts and experimented with drugs. 

He got a cleaning job at Pittsburgh's School of Professional Art, but ended up leaving so he could study in New York at the School for Visual Arts.

 Pop Shop 1 (1987)

He became friends with several artists such as Jean Micheal Bosquiat and Kenny Scharf. Together, they organized exhibitions at clubs. He started doing art in subways, which earned him public attention. On the subways, he noticed that there were advertising panels that were left blank. Using chalk, he would fill these panels with is artwork. However, authorities arrested him for vandalism. This made his token the radiant baby (see below) as the icon of his work.

the Radiant Baby

Despite these setbacks, he became a very influential artist. He used bold strokes and bright colors to capture his ideas. In 1981, he had his first solo exhibition in Manhattan. His work is predominately shown in the Tony Shrafrazi gallery, which has represented his art since 1982. He opened his store called the Pop Shop that sold various merchandise of his pieces. However, in 1988 he was diagnosed with AIDS, and on February 16th, 1990, he died of complications due to the disease. He managed to complete over fifty public works of art in his lifetime, and still serves as inspiration for muralists and pop artists worldwide.

We the Youth (1987)

Tuttomondo (1989)