THE RIOTERS (memoir edition)

MY MEMOIRS

THE BOY / MAN / HESS:

When I was seventeen I was one of two students picked from my high school to take part in a work program for The Hyatt Regency Hotel. They picked one male and one female. I felt lucky because I had landed my first job with little to no effort lol. I was thrown into the workplace with adults who had stories, baggage, ideas, fetishes,habits, and most noticeably...influence. Cast systems and racial taboos were booking rooms right under my nose and I was still a child of folly. Needless to say, I had money for the first time in my life and a laugh to match. 

This poem was a culmination of those memories and the experiences that found me that year. The reason why it was included in MY little BROWN BOOK was because it was only supposed to be a story about my first time. Would it not be wised to include the First Female among the women who have shaped me my entire life? Somewhere along the way it became more than that, more to me. So many details were true but so many were the results of a more universal meaning. The journey from childhood to adulthood is tricky enough and doesn't actually need an actual journey to strengthen the memory. Still, I've been blessed with some real life tales and if they were all just for me to share with random strangers from time to time on WATTPAD than that would be enough. But honestly, The Boy wants more.....

THE GIRL / FLOWER / CANDACE:

I saw Her through young eyes and she was the culmination of 3 separate girls I met that year. Each was represented by Physical Description, by Ideology, and by Age Impact. It was easier to fill in the blanks left by My First because I didn't have a lot of backstory on Her. Like the story read, I worked at that Hotel, she wasn't from this country, and it was just an evening. In the story I made a reference to Her hometown of Austin which the Boy couldn't have known as he carried her. So details like that I needed to pull from other new sources from that year.

Describing Candace was the heart of this story. The Boy didn't know that she was actually the product of an identity crisis because she was so strong and loud. That fact alone we could dissect and run out of breath. But just like any visitor from another place does, she stood out. Exposing her flaws was a delicate thing because I didn't want to take away from the "Bullhorn Princess" who organized the rally. The fact that she was the daughter of The Badge only increased her depth because she displayed vulnerability as well as she did toughness. (In my opinion of course)

Why did she tell the Boy? I think it's because she saw him as perfect. Maybe she wanted him to know because she needed someone to know her inward struggle and maybe...except her. There's so many layers to Candace but I want you the reader to speculate and ask and search and answer.

THE PROTEST / MOVEMENT / RIOT:

I purposely left the nature of the protest vague for several reasons. The story isn't about the riot it's about the Rioters. I wanted the reader to fill in the details in their imagination and customize the journey. I didn't want to preach. I didn't want a specific political deluge seeping from the pages. Also the Boy didn't know what he was marching for so the reader shouldn't either. It was an important factor though because the people around the Boy were direct deposits of the party lines.

Now when I was younger the riot I described in the story was beefed up for affect. There was a rally of sorts but the story's version was a metaphor for maturity. In my mind trying to impress an older women and weighing the opinions of all the adults I came in contact with at the hotel was chaos. The protest to me was the most accurate vehicle I could use to convey the angst of swapping ideas and refusals of those ideas. Candace pulled the Boy in and he saw the ugly on both sides and He only acted out of desire for her. 

THE BANKER / OGRE / EVANGELIST:

I created this character on a whim and he was supposed to speak a line or two and that's it. But once I got him stuck in my head I couldn't shake his potential. He was the exact opposite of Candace by accident but his voice may be the only one people remember lol! He's polarizing and I tried to write his character as unbiased as I could. He mentions death several times and the Cain and Abel statue could speak volumes about the Ogre. What do you think?

THE BADGE:

A father chasing after his daughter...

I could write pages on this story but I would love 

to have you be a part of the nuts and bolts of this poem's discussion. 

Pm, post, ask questions, offer insight, criticize, etc....

Let THE RIOTERS be

about the writers!