Thursday, October 15, 2009

Identity Crisis

Denteen had a favorite pastime: she loved looking back. She loved reliving, rehashing, reexamining, and replaying her life. Over and over, Denteen would watch videos, listen to tapes, read journals, scour photos, and pour over scrap books. She kept alphabetized, numbered, and dated plastic containers under her King-sized bed to hold her precious mementos.

Every now and again (then, again and again) Denteen would lie on her stomach on the linoleum floor, close her eyes and hold her breath, then she'd reach under her bed. She'd shiver in anticipation. Which container would she get? Her early years? Spent lumping from one dinky town to another with her rootless parents? Her teen years? Spent humping one dinky town boy or another.

How she'd giggle and guffaw at her antics. How she'd weep and whither at her heartbreaks.

It took 14 months to scan, transpose, and upload it all to her blog, "Chew on This" and of her 873 individual posts she received just one comment, from her cousin Wilbur, on the second from last post, entitled, "Denteen: A Complete Summary of My Fabulous Life"--

Wil.I.ever said...
"Hey, Denteen. What's new?"