Jazmee27 
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Anyhow, I told Grandma about this story, not giving anything away as far as race goes. All I did was give her names (one character was given my name, Jaymee, and the guy was named Victorio [and the first thing out of Grandma’s mouth was, “Don’t tell me he’s black?”And I asked, so what if he is? “Well, black and white people don’t belong together” {or did she say “they shouldn’t mix}])
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IT'S ALL THE SAME TO ME!
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Reply #401. May 18 12, 3:36 PM
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Jazmee27
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If I do share my stories with her, I'm very careful what I say so as not to have a repeat of that
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And to this day, I don’t share my stories with her—and I’m struggling to get past the block on my mind, or whatever it is that prevents me from writing them.
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Reply #402. May 18 12, 3:48 PM
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Jazmee27
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I can't believe at one time I thought Tiffany might... no, no, no, DON'T GO THERE
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My friend Tiffany has been instrumental in helping me overcome this obstacle. She’s even agreed to co-write the story with me. And while I have many more characters than I used to, and the details have changed, the underlying theme of racial tension hasn’t (a number of my characters, and one of Tiffany’s, end up in interracial relationships/marriages [which leads to other characters behaving badly, if you catch my drift {I could elaborate, but again, that would divert from the whole point}]).
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Reply #403. May 18 12, 3:50 PM
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Jazmee27
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But let’s not leave a question unanswered: Did Grandma ever set aside her prejudices/modify her behavior so that Mom and I could have a relationship with both Edy and her? Answer: yes (at least for a while [she attended my graduation knowing full well he’d be there, and was pleasantly surprised to find she liked the guy {unfortunately, when the relationship between him and Mom went south, Grandma’s firm opinion was that she had been right all along: interracial couples sh)
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Then Mom and I got to listen to the "I told you so"
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Reply #404. May 18 12, 3:51 PM
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Jazmee27
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So, maybe the reason why I couldn’t write “Worlds Divided” in the past (and am still struggling to even start it) is that this *is a world divided—or, at least, a family divided.
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In more ways than one
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Reply #405. May 18 12, 3:52 PM
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Jazmee27
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Mom and Stephanie are going to the Relay for Life
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Reply #406. May 18 12, 3:53 PM
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Jazmee27
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I'm done with "The Man Within" and have started listening to "A Dream to Call My Own"
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Reply #407. May 18 12, 5:25 PM
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Jazmee27
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Why do I get the feeling I minimized the situation?
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The situation heated up in August 2009, a few months prior to my leaving home. But the problems certainly didn’t originate that year. |
Reply #408. May 18 12, 7:00 PM
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Jazmee27
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When it started, nobody knows
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I was doubtless too caught up in life to notice there were any problems with the bus company—until, that is, things began to spiral out of control.
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ISN'T THAT OFTEN HOW IT IS?
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Reply #409. May 18 12, 7:02 PM
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Jazmee27
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Let me begin by saying that, years ago, I had to sign up for a special service with the County of Lebanon Transport (COLT), proving that I couldn’t use their fixed route service. So I began using the mini bus, first to my job twice a week, and later to college two or three times per week.
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Reply #410. May 18 12, 7:03 PM
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Jazmee27
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Good and bad memories... 'TIS LIFE
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the drivers were always very helpful—for the most part. We had pleasant interactions, and I didn’t think anything was awry.
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ARE YOU COUNTING SHIRLEY, KELLY AND VINCE?
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Reply #411. May 18 12, 7:16 PM
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Jazmee27
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THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THAT
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Well, I shouldn’t say that: there were the intermittent problems, like when Kelly would leave me standing at the main entrance of the school and tell me, “You’re on your own now” (this was after my balance had deteriorated to the point where I needed a walker [prior to that, I was always a little wary of just walking in a place, other than the house I shared with my mother, fearing that I’d bump into an obstacle, or that I might fall {with hindsight, I suspect it was mostly the latter}]).
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Actually, she did that even BEFORE I had the walker! (And I was still insecure about wandering off on my own)
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Reply #412. May 18 12, 7:20 PM
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Jazmee27
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SOMETHING TELLS ME THERE'D HAVE BEEN A CONFLICT REGARDLESS
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And then there was the time Shirley through a fit upon seeing my extra grocery bags (when I went to the store, I always took a backpack to limit the number of bags, but depending what I got… [And most drivers were all too happy to help me {the impression I got later is that another customer called and caused a fuss because *they helped *me and not this other person. Hello, people, not only do I have to use the walker, but I’m sight-impaired! What would you like me to do?}]) In fact, Shirley’s exact words were, “What the hell is this?” I was tempted to ask what it looked like, but I was so confused and flustered I just said “groceries.” And she did help me carry them, but when we got to my house she threw the bags in the walkway (I only remember the bread, but I’m sure there were others [why else would she have flipped out on me? {And was that really necessary?). At the time, I was tempted to tell her there was a dryer close by, and she could put them there. But she irritated me with her brusque, impatient manner [she told me "I'm not allowed inside!" in that annoying way of hers], and so I said nothing (until, that is, I stepped on the bread or put the walker on it, smashing part of the loaf [so I called in a “concern” about that as soon as I got in {and now I’m wondering if the later hassle with the administration was a direct result}]).
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Reply #413. May 18 12, 7:24 PM
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Jazmee27
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Talking about the friendly ones for a change:
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"My favorite driver," I think, was Carlos. He always greeted me with "honey, I'm home," or some related remark,and introduced me to other passengers as his wife (it was a given, at least to me, that he was kidding)
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Reply #414. May 18 12, 7:25 PM
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Jazmee27
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"Rude" is one word; "direct" is another
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Come to think of it, though, I rarely appreciated his "humor" (but neither did it stop him) [I mean that I was sometimes downright rude, that's how much I DIDN'T appreciate his "joke"
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Reply #415. May 18 12, 7:26 PM
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Jazmee27
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"Dream on" is right!
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I remember he took me to the store on more than one occasion, and told me to pick up a steak for him. "You want it so bad, go get it yourself," I retorted. And my response every time he called me "honey" (in addition to "honey I'm home," it was, "give me your money honey") was "I'm NOT your honey!" (He was never perturbed, saying he was willing to wait as long as it took for me to "come to my senses" I told HIM, in response, "keep dreaming, Carlos."
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Reply #416. May 18 12, 7:27 PM
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Jazmee27
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I'll never understand why some men do that
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I believe there was some relation between him and a former coworker (son-in-law? Something like that--it's been so long, I'm not sure)
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Reply #417. May 18 12, 7:28 PM
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Jazmee27
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This was acase of me not knowing what the hell I was talking about
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I’m not sure exactly when it started, but occasionally I get an error while viewing a Web page, and the computer asks me whether or not I’d like to send an error report.
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THIS IS NOT, IN ANY WAY, RELATED TO ERROR REPORTING!
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Reply #418. May 18 12, 7:31 PM
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Jazmee27
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(Wait—the problem started after I had that virus, or whatever it is). In most cases, if I go back into Explorer, I can view the page fine.
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A LITTLE PARANOID, WERE WE?
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Reply #419. May 18 12, 7:32 PM
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Jazmee27
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There was SORT OF a concern, but I "blew it out of proportion"
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But a concerning development occurred today, May 27 (given what happened with the virus, I’m a little wary of the information the computer’s telling me [error message or part of a virus pretending to be a virus? {I’ll have to ask Mom—I knew there was a reason I was grateful to have a tech in the family!}])
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Reply #420. May 18 12, 7:33 PM
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