Sep 11 2012
Life, unpeeled
Everyone needs a place of escape, and mine was LA – my parents’ hometown and a magical place for my sisters and I growing up. It was the land of eating out for every meal, the land of staying up late watching TV, and the land of calling dibs on tarnished costume jewelry. In between running through the sprinklers and making our uncle play “Maple Leaf Rag”on the piano, we’d gather as many oranges as we could from under the trees in my grandparents backyard, and our Grandma would peel and juice them for us until we tired of the citrusy taste.
Afterwards, on the flight back to New York – the land of homework, rules, and routine, we’d take comfort knowing that LA was still out there. That my grandparents’ had the old photos and the warm Dr. Pepper ready for our next visit.
As my sisters and I grew older, and started making our own plans and schedules, family vacations became a luxury. LA – a symbol for the fun and freedom of our youth – was usually just a daydream. Yet every time we did manage to return there, we were able to peel back the burden of adult responsibility for long enough to taste our past innocence.
My Grandma died over two years ago, and my Grandpa has a fulltime caregiver now. I’ve been overhearing plans to sell their old house when the time comes. To sell a piece of my childhood to a stranger, who’ll no doubt criticize it and try to make improvements. When that happens I’ll have no reason to come to LA anymore. It’ll be all New York, all the time. My life, unpeeled. I guess that’s what they call growing up.
First of all I would like to say that this is one of the best stories I heard at our show and tell. I was wondering if from an artistic point of view if you had thought of actually peeling the orange as you talked? I think the peeling would give the idea of you peeling away your childhood in LA and the peeling away the great memories you had there. But the great descriptions you used of you and your family being all together in that beautiful home with those orange trees. I felt like I was there with you and then I felt the dread of coming back to New York.
Thanks Konstantin 🙂
I think peeling the orange would’ve been a terrific idea but the words smudged easily plus I’d probably have had to double-space my lines or something. Duly noted for the next time I write on an orange, though.
Ew, that smiley came out creepier than intended.
Don’t worry it wasn’t creepy, it had good intentions.
I love the imagery in your story. I can picture exactly what your childhood vacations were like. I have to agree with Konstantin, that peeling the orange would have made for a more memorable presentation.
Konstantin you’re a nut for thinking she coud peel the orange as she made her presentation! I thought it was incredible to write on the orange to begin with! You are an amazing writer by the way, I felt like I was there in LA with you as you told your story. Do you think you could ever go back to LA even if it’s not at your grandparents’ house and possibly relive some of your childhood? Or go back to LA at all?
Yeah I’d love to go back, but going to LA just won’t be a given for me anymore. Like my parents had to fly me there to see my grandparents, but why would they pay for me to go just for regular vacations? I wish, though, because they have gorgeous weather in the winter.
Pessia,
When you were reading your story in class I could almost feel your emotions with growing up and knowing the sadness that comes with it. Your object had so much symbolism behind the story, which made that much more of an impact on me. The line where you say “Yet every time we did manage to return there, we were able to peel back the burden of adult responsibility for long enough to taste our past innocence” was perfect. It described that moment that many of us feel when we have that chance to just forget all of our worries and enjoy the moment. But we know that it doesn’t last forever. Keep up the writing; you have a talent and don’t take it for granted!
I loved your presentation. I wish you could go back to YOUR LA, not the lights and action of LA. When i used to think of LA, I thought of celebrities and big pools and movies. But now, I can only think of the bliss that you knew there.