It wasn’t until recently that I started to categorize my recollections into a coherent state, time wise.

It was late August or September, 1989 when we moved back to the United States. My mother, sister, and I flew into Birmingham and arrived very late at night. We met my father at the airport, I do not remember if he flew earlier or had to fly on a different plane. My Uncle K and Aunt M, my father’s kin, picked us up. They had a large Oldsmobile with a pull down front arm rest. That was my seat. I sat next to my Uncle K, who I had only just met, and I think I fell in love. If I’m truthful to myself, Uncle K is my favorite uncle on both sides of my family. He has always treated me with respect and kindness. He never once has made me feel as if I was stupid, young, or foolish even when I was all three.

We stayed with Uncle K and Aunt M for a few days before moving to Eufuala. My father decided to move us into his mothers apartment in the projects.

Now there are a few Eufuala Projects. The ones my Grandmother lived in were a series of squat, red brick, one story duplexes, lined with hydrangeas. Pecan and Southern Live Oaks were planted between each duplex. A large, communal field was the back yard.

My Grandma’s apartment was a small, two bedroom apartment. My sister and I slept I. The second bedroom, my parents in the living room. My father worked odd jobs around the town. I remember once he cleaned and torched a debris field in a neighboring apartment complex. I’m not sure how much he made, but I know it wasn’t steady. My mother, I think, waitressed

My sister went to Eufuala Elementary School for first grade, having started school in Germany. I went to preschool at the 1st Methodist church. I do not remember much, but I remember listening to Puff the Magic Dragon for the first time and eating these small daisy-like cookies that I could fit on my fingers.

My Grandmother or Mother would pick me and my sister up in my Grandmother’s green Buick LeSabre where the we’re no car seats and few seatbelts. For my Sisters birthday, we went to McDonalds, back when McDonald’s did birthday parties. I was not a fan.

I remember my Aunt A taking me to the Eufuala Carnegie Library. I found a picture of the Library on Flickr.

As a child, those steps leading to the library were massive and those doors loomed. In the upstairs they had a small room with a projector and would show old cartoons. I saw black and white Bugs Bunny cartoons and Brer Rabbit shorts in that library. It was early October, the leaves had started to change. I’d kick the leaves as I hopped up those stairs with my Aunt A. I loved that library.

For Halloween, my Mother made me a Dinosaur costume. We walked around the projects, trick or treating. I remember my father buying fake spider webs and decorating the front porch with webbing. I remember who I trick-or-treated with and what I wore, but nothing else. I have no idea what my sister or cousins were. But there was candy and fun and greatness to be had.

I remember, going on a long trip from Eufuala to Montgomery to watch the Little Mermaid with my Mom, sister, and cousin. I do not remember watching the movie. I’ve watched it countless times since then, but the first time watching, I remember nothing. What I do remember was the concessions put powdered cheese on the popcorn. The tangy scent and saltiness still are triggering memories. The movie, nothing.

Within a week of watching the movie, my mother, sister, and I left my father for the first time. We flew, for my mother did not own a car, to Oregon. We lived with my Maternal Grandparents for the first time. From this point on, my memories are crystal clear. Sometimes, I wish they weren’t.