My Red Dot Moment

I was so tired. It was late on a Thursday. There was an opening at All My Relations for artist Mikaela Shafer’s new work. I was weary and reluctant. However, my new friend Kathleen was going and I felt like maybe I should go. I put on a nice shirt and a jacket and made my way down to the Ave.

I had seen the installers working earlier in the week but I wasn’t prepared for what I walked into. It was a wonderland! A captivating mix of textiles flowing in mid-air; beautiful framed collages with corresponding poems; a video installation and water feature that brought tranquility and balance to the space.

Kathleen and I went in different directions. As a writer, I had to read every poem. I was drawn to one entitled “Summer Skinned Knees.”  I was immediately gripped by nostalgia and intrigue. Here is what Mikaela wrote:

Do you remember me?

It’s been so long, hasn’t it?

Little thing with big brown eyes

Skinned knees kneeling in rusty

shopping carts

heading fast down bumpy hills

with pockets full of stolen quarters

for banana laffy taffy at the corner store.

Long hair in messy braids 

sticky from shared sodas dripping down 

chins.

And everything was good 

because all the rest was unspoken.

And we stayed out late enough

that our whole world was sleeping

when we finally snuck back into our

beds. 

Banana laffy taffy! I had to read it again. Memories of my oldest sister, who had just passed away, bringing me handfuls of laffy taffy when I was sick and home from school. Nora Francis, who was fiercely protective of me, always making sure I had a treat when I wasn’t feeling well. We didn’t have much but we had each other.

I looked around and Kathleen was on my left carefully studying a piece. She turned to me and said: “Hey little brother, what have you found?”  A crash of conflicting emotions welled up. She so naturally called me little brother that I felt a sudden urge to cry or leave. Is she psychic?, I wondered. She said: “I’m getting this one. You should get that one. Let’s get our red dots right away.” Her certainty inspired me. I felt a momentary sadness, a floating feeling of deep regret for what could have been. Nora is no longer here and yet she was just here, in this moment I might have missed.

I turned to Kathleen and said:  “Let’s do it.”