My oldest cousin was a force to be reckoned with. He did a lot of unexplainable things that even doctors couldn’t figure out. One time, we had all enjoyed watermelon and put our rimes in the garbage can. When we were done, my cousin would go into the garbage can, retrieve the rimes and push the maggots aside and eat the remaining pink parts of the watermelon rinds. He would pick up chewing gum off the street and eat it. Discarded candies and food were quickly picked up and eaten. He would steal food around the house, steal money and go to the carryout, sneak out and steal snacks from stores. Once, we were watching a Fiddle Faddle commercial and he asked if  I wanted some. I said yeah and he snuck out of the upstairs window and jumped off the roof. He went to the store. By then, a neighbor called because my mentally retarded brother was out on the roof waiting for my cousin to come back. By the time my cousin came back with Fiddle Faddle and 7Up soda, my mother was waiting for him. She didn’t beat him and she didn’t make him take the stolen snacks back. She made him stand in a corner while she, me and my brother ate Fiddle Faddle and drank cold 7Up. Did my cousin learn anything from this…NO!

written by Joan Nyobe