This is the tale of Athens Georgia native Akia Janean Washington. She is the daughter of local pastor Rev. Joseph Abraham Washington and luxury car saleswoman Patricia Washington. She has an older brother Vaughn and her silly best friend Beatrice Ur...
It was early spring of 1984. Joseph Washington is now a strikingly handsome and tall 16 year old boy.
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(16-year-old Joseph Abraham Washington)
Athens, GA
Circa: 1984
He possesses smooth dark skin and penetrating dark brown eyes. Today was the last day of school at Athens College Prep High before the school let out for Spring break. Today, Joseph's Socioeconomic class would be going on a field trip to a farmer's market outside of Athens, Georgia. The point of the field trip was to learn about rural economics. Joseph has never been to a farmer's market before, so he was excited. Except for the mustard greens, onions, carrots and tomatoes that his mother grew in their little backyard garden; the majority of their fresh produce was store bought. His socioeconomic teacher is Mrs. Gladys Woods; a big and boisterous light skinned black woman who began her class session every day with a joke just to liven things up.
It was mid March and Joseph's 16th birthday just passed. He got two inches taller and his voice developed a little bit more base. More girls in the neighborhood began to take notice of him and his confident stride. Even though he was cordial, for some reason, none of those girls seemed to do anything for him. They were.... how could you say, too into themselves, prudish and catty. They seemed to turn their noses up at anything that wasn't overly feminine or the latest juicy gossip. He woke up an hour early this morning. It bought enough time to not just shower, but to also shave and iron his school uniform. When he got out the of the shower, he splashed on some of his father's aftershave. Maybe, he would meet himself a cute farm girl. He smiled to himself as he thought about it. It didn't matter what race she was, black or white, he just wanted a girlfriend. He went into his bedroom to get dressed. He took one look at his reflection in the full length door mirror and began to smile and flex.
"Damn, I'm a sexy beast", he said to himself.
After spraying on deodorant, he began to get dressed in his neatly pressed school uniform. His younger brother Ramone was now thirteen and an 8th grader at Paul Bennington Performing Arts Middle School. He already expressed his interest in wanting to be a singer. He has won 1st and 2nd place at many talent shows. Most weekends, he was found harmonizing with three other boys that lived on the same block as the Washington Family. They harmonized on the front porch or in the church basement after Sunday services were finished.
Their parents Conan and Shirley moved into this house last year, shortly after they made a down payment. They grew tired of being renters and now saw the opportunity to be home owners. Last year, Mrs. Washington landed a job working as a telemarketer for a company that sold life insurance. She even purchased her own car, a 1984 wood paneled station wagon. Mr. Washington was still a pastor but now the head foreman for the same construction company he's been working at for years. Joseph could hear his mom downstairs in the living room exercising to one of her beta max workout tapes. While getting dressed, Joseph's younger brother barged into his room.
