My Life: A Memoir by Greg Kay Jones For Jack and Andy It was in late July of 1986 that I reluctantly packed my bags into my parent’s car and left New York city in ignominious defeat. As the vehicle dragged its way through the streets of lower Manhattan and it’s pilot and co-pilot began their usual squabbling refrain, my spirit urged me to throw open the door and to contiue waging my war. But this battle had been lost. My body was marked by the wounds of chemical addiction – my soul by that of emotional rejection – I had been reduced to a beggar. My parents love had always been a constant. The epitome of perfect intentions in a world of which they knew so little and feared so much. This love was to carry me home to the tiny New York village of Arkport (pop. 811), where it was hoped that I would find reprieve and seek out a new course for my ambitions. My college days had been a worthy experiment as I had learned much, achieving position and great notoriety, all the while sparking a revolution whose flames eventually consumed me. I had fled to New York with an idea in my head and my portfolio under my arm. I was leaving now with far less. My childhood in Arkport had been blessed with a great deal of distinction. Small pond that it was I was able to do it all, from sports to politics – simultaneously wetting the bed and lusting after other boys – seemingly without contradiction. Perhaps it was my parents example, of not knowing and yet persevering, which nurtured my resilience and allowed my love to grow unchecked. Now here I was again in a place where you could hear the telephone ring down the street and see every single star in the night sky. How many times I had sat in my brother’s orange Volkswagen beetle, listening to the 8-track tape player while looking up through the sun roof at those stars – dreaming of a freedom I was incapable of describing. How many times I would wish to reclaim such ignorance over the coming months following my return. An excerpt from my forthcoming memoir, coming to Kickstarter soon.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 20:41:22 +0000
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