Friday, October 12, 2018

Fiorella and Kanye

What separates Fiorella from most other people is that she's not in the least bit interested in being anybody else. Not a movie star, not a celebrity, not a man, not taller or slimmer. Okay, she wdn't mind being younger, smarter, and having more money, though.
*
Something else about Fio--competition is not her game. She thinks sports competition is a waste of time, energy, and money, that competing with other people in any way always ends badly, and that flashy contests are rigged. The only person she competes with is herself.
*
Kanye West made a fool out of himself and an even bigger fool of Trump, who usually does a pretty good job on his own. Do either of them think this performance would win over black votes?
*
Fiorella has put a lot of time and energy into her Halloween decoration this year. A small plastic skeleton hangs from the mailbox, and orange Tide containers decorated as jack-o'-lanterns sit at the top of the driveway. Inside the house, Fio has swirled paper bats up from a paper pumpkin and across the front windows up toward the next window, where they change into miniature witches as they reach the orange moon in the far corner. She'll try to post a picture of the mural once it is finished.
*
Q: Fio, you've been through a lot lately. How do you survive it?
A: Well, I'm not quiet about it and may throw a screaming fit, which helps. But I also remember when I was sick as a dog in elementary school, and my parents left me home alone because it was Saturday and they had to go buy groceries. Soon after they left, I knew I had to vomit. The bathroom was fairly close, but I was too weak to walk so I squirmed out of bed, crawled on my belly down the hall, threw up in the toilet, flushed it, and crawled back into bed. When I told my mother what had happened, I expected her to apologize for not being there and maybe even make a little fuss over me, but she just nodded as if she hadn't heard me. I resented her lack of reaction for years, but finally realized it had made me a stronger person, taught me that I could handle any situation on my own if I put my mind to it. To prove it, look how I was able to deal with the loss of the heating system, Husband's hospital and rehab stays, and other things I won't tell you about.

No comments: