jodi james

While most of you Gen-Xers have fond memories of suburban life, the "kid next door" didn't exist in my neck of the woods. Rows of sugar cane and soybeans replaced a landscape of cement driveways and cul de sacs. Being deprived of the luxury of childhood discovery through the open doors of countless realities lining the streets, my epiphany to see the world for what it is, seemed to come as a delayed reaction. While neighborhood packs led dusk excursions on their 10-speeds and gossiped about their dysfunctional families, I was busy singing into my favorite hair brush, entertaining an attentive audience of Care Bears and Rainbow Brites. And in my clairvoyant innocence, I replied with confidence when the age old question, "what do you want to be when you grow-up," was asked. Although my sheltered upbringing may have candy-coated the sour actuality of life, it did force me to experience independence prematurely, which intensified my insatialble hunger to share with others, to be understood and wholly accepted. With each new friendship, i scouted my way along the footpaths that bridged the subdivisions of my inner self. This thirst for truth could not be satisfied by the bland likeness that seeped through the lips of small town talkers who are blinded by the dust of their dirt roads. I craved a crowd of strangers, all with one common thread...to experience life in all its facets to gain perspective of their own. I walked through the golden gates of the west and took off my shoes. The streets were redolent with freedom and i inhaled its aroma like a fresh baked pie sitting on a sill. I filled my mouth with her sweetness, chewed twenty-five times and swallowed. Versus and choruses rolled in with the tide from an ocean of inspiration, and i became submerged in my instruments. Savoring the ingredients in all the slices of me, truth was digested and I was satisfied. Now able to exist peacefully wherever i laid my head, i craved the warmth of my beginnings and the comfort of shared last names. Though contentment is temporary, as it flows in rhythm with our ever changing seasons, and I am preparing for the next.