Some Polaroids of my Family.




Here are my parents. When I was in 4th grade, I came home from school one day, totally distraught that some kids were calling me racist names while I was walking home. My Mom and Dad were in the kitchen, drinking coffee when I told them about what had happened. Furious over the whole incident, my Dad loudly told me I was not different from anyone else, that we were all equal, and that anyone else who thought less of me because my skin was a different color could choke on it, for all he cared (this is paraphrased, of course). After he stormed out of the kitchen, still very angry about the whole episode, my Mom sat me down and said "Don't listen to your Father. You *are* different. You're better than those boys. Don't forget it."

My father is the hardest working person I know. He is stubborn, intelligent and passionate. He loves steak, steamed fish and corn on the cob. He is incredibly motivated, and has an awesome singing voice.

My mother is also very hard-working, emotional, fiery at times but soft-spoken at other times. Mom stays out of the sun, and sometimes gets hives if it's too windy. She is sweet and comforting, forthcoming, and determined.

They both love meeting new people, telling jokes, listening to all sorts of music. They love flowers, arguing, dogs, travelling by car, children, and work. They love each other very much.





This is my older sister Purchit. When I was in Junior High school. I heard this loud music blasting from behind Purchit's door. When I quietly opened the door, I found my sister and her friend Linda bouncing around, singing Def Leppard songs into her improvised microphone, a balled up sock. I recently visited her in Chicago, more than 15 years after the incident, and as we pulled out of her parking lot, eerily familiar music starts blasting out of her CD player. It was a mix CD of Def Leppard's Greatest Hits. Just goes to show you that you can take the girl out of Mercer County, but you can't take Mercer County out of the girl.

Purchit is intelligent, giving, maddeningly organized. I realized that when I was describing her as sometimes being aloof, I really meant that she is sometimes spaced-out. And not spaced-out in a bad way of course, unless you count having *two* cars stolen from her as being bad. She is worldly, shy, commited, incredibly thoughtful and caring. She is my favorite older sister in the entire world. She is also a horrible driver.





This is my younger sister Nanette, although everyone knows her as Pinky. When she was in elementary school, probably around second grade, Pinky and her gang of girlfriends used to play this game that they made up, called "Taffy." The premise of the game was that they would be going about their normal business, playing with their Cabbage Patch Kids or having a tea party, when all of a sudden, large amounts of imaginary taffy would come oozing out from every direction into their play area, severely restricting their motion, like woolly mammoths in the La Brea tar pits. The great thing about the game was that it was very imaginative, and very funny to watch. The bad thing about the game was that it could happen anywhere... the grocery store, JC Penney's, the movie theatre.

Pinky is analytical, smart, silly, annoying, funny, charismatic, confident, full of energy, talented and proud. She approaches problems with a clear head. When Pinky and I are in the same room, it usually gets very loud and very funny. She is loving, inventive, and driven.

Coming soon: my brother-in-law Greg.