The Stranger in the Photo Is You Memoir

The Stranger in the Photo is You Memoir

It is the morning of May 3, 2015, the end of Spring break for New Yorker students. It is a crisp, cool morning in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Today, my aunt and I should be on our way home, but we need to make one more stop before driving back to New York. Normally, the trip takes approximately 20 hours, without traffic, to travel to New York from Ft. Lauderdale, but our little detour will cost us nearly eight more hours. As I watch the sun rise behind the swampy landscape of Central South Florida, I try to imagine what it will be like to see them again, my parents. At this point, I haven’t seen either of them in almost eight years, and I am unsure of what my reaction will be. I imagine myself breaking down into tears when I see them, screaming at them, and asking them why, or perhaps I will be ecstatic and run into their welcoming arms. The last image is a doubtful one. I honestly have no idea what to think or what to feel. I was doubtful that I would see them again for a long time. As I try to sort through my feelings, I begin to look through the photo album I brought along to share with my parents. My eyes fall on a picture that my dad took of me when he visited for Christmas in 2004. At that time, I still lived in Florida with my godmother. As I gaze at the picture, I begin to think back to that precise moment, and suddenly, the background noise of being in a car on the busy highway fades, and I am six years old again.

I woke up that morning not knowing what my day was going to be like. It was Christmas Eve in, Hollywood Florida, and I was home alone. My plans for the day were to go ride my scooter around the Family Dollar parking lot across the street until I got bored. Without anyone home, there wasn’t much to do keep me entertained. I decided to get out of my bed and go eat breakfast. When I walked into the living room I saw my father sleeping on the couch. I was so excited! My dad was a mover, and wasn’t able to come see me much. When I saw him laying on that couch, there was no better gift in the world. When he woke up he made my favorite breakfast, mickey mouse shaped pancakes. Once we were done with breakfast we went out to start our day.

Our day began with a walk to the Family Dollar, which was right across the street. He bought me a Barbie doll and himself a disposable camera to take pictures throughout the day. We then began our journey around town. We were out all day long. My dad took dozens of photos with that small camera. There are some of me holding my Care Bear umbrella, posing like a primadonna, others are of me attempting to turn a broom stick into a baton, and even more of me drinking cocoa at a family friends house, but my favorite of all was a picture he took of me while I was on the phone with my mother.

My mom and dad had a home in Ocala, Florida, almost 300 miles from my home in Hollywood. Because of the distance, I almost never got to see the both of them at the same time, if I was able to see them at all. That is why this picture has always been my favorite.The photo is one of the only ones I have where my father, mother, and I are all involved in the picture at the