Sacramento-driving home to NYC
My cousin is hurting and I feel so helpless
He needs a kidney because the two he has are bad, bad and bad
There are no kidneys available for him
He is on dialysis 4-6 hours twice a week
My cousin is hurting and I feel so helpless
He flew to California to drive back to NYC with me, car and a rabbit in tow
He moved to California a few years later while I, still, am, here
He has six dogs and I have two
My cousin is hurting and I feel so helpless
Mi primo aka GI Joe
He inspired me to write “GI Joe and the Betty Crockers” (short story)
He is my childhood friend and former nemesis
He is mi primo, who brought home cabernet and chicken wings on Friday evenings after work
He is mi primo who’d go out to get a second bottle after we drank the first while reminiscing about the elders-the McCallas-who have a way of attracting so much trouble and producing so much emotional drama
My cousin is hurting and I feel so helpless
I am afraid of his illness, of confronting it, dealing with it, flying out there to take over, to take care of him-mama’s illness took a huge chunk of me out of me and the scar tissue that covers what was once the me is thick and crusty
Celebrating a b-day with mom, my mom and his Tia, his aunt
Mi primo está sufriendo y yo estaré allí para él.
(My cousin is hurting and I will be there for him)
