The Questions I’ve Been Asked 2
...from a visit to West Liberty High School
Hi everyone. Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a class at West Liberty High School. Shout out to Erica Jennings and her multicultural literature class.
The visit could not have come at a better time. Things have been particularly rough for me lately. With family issues, work issues, the whole shebang. But within literally five minutes of this class visit I busted out an authentic laugh. That loud screech of a laugh that I get from my mother and only makes an appearance when I find something truly truly funny. Let me tell you what these kids did. They read the book and made a power point presentation based on locales from it. Describing it won't do it justice...just take a look for yourself...
Goddamn that is funny. Hot take: It’s funny in a way only Latino kids who grew up in small towns can be funny. In addition to this piece of art in slide form they also asked questions that I usually don't get in author visits. Because they grew up in the same town and so deeply connect with it (one student was the daughter of one of the Josh's I write about. We acknowledged how weird it would be to read about your dads hood rat days) The class wrote up a bunch of their questions and I thought it would be perfect for another installment of "The Questions I've Been Asked' There is a good amount of questions here so I'm going to split it into two parts.
1. What is one place you miss about west liberty that is no longer here? Al's Family Fun Center. The movie/game rental place. Every. Friday. I would go to Al's and rent a video-game. I actually got in trouble when I was way too young (maybe like 4 years old?) when I walked across town with a dollar in my pocket to rent a game by myself. I went so much one of the employees came to my high school graduation party. Al's is one of the reasons why I miss the concept of rental stores so much.
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2. How many dishes did you learn to cook from childhood? Hmmm. I'd say more than a handful. There were a couple of periods in my life when I attempted to learn dishes from my mom. I've written about how this was easier said than done. First there are the cultural gender issues...but then there is the cultural differences in oral traditions vs written recipes. My bias is towards measurements. “Ama how many tablespoons is that?”
"Pos no se...es asi," she would say as she would dump an eyeballed dash of this or that in the pot. But to answer the question: I'd say like ten dishes? I focused on some fundamentals. Arroz. Tortillas. First thing I ever learned to cook was chorizo con huevos. I managed to get out a recipe for menudo.
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3. I can relate to not having a very close relationship with my father. Do you think most Hispanic families deal with this issue? Or just any type of family relationships.
I believe that this issue is a perfect Venn diagram of different identities. It fits the original definition of intersectionality to a T. It's very much a Mexican thing, but also a traditional cis man issue, then you have the added bonus of us having these relationships in the last few decades...before we got the chance to learn from and be able to change some of these relationship dynamics. Like even though I fit all of those identities I listed I would hope that I learned from these generational issues for the relationship I have with my daughter.
4. If you could, would you change anything about your past?
Mostly I would change the perception I had of myself. There was a lot of self loathing and insecurity. So much of that low point in my life I detail in the last part of the book was based on not feeling like I was good enough. Or the fact that it took me so long to gain the perspective that my story was worthy to tell. And, of course, if I could go back and get some act-right about myself in terms of hurting others heck yeah I would change the harm I afflicted upon those around me. I would still keep the hoodlimizing adventures though lmao. Sorry West Liberty of the past you’re5 still getting your windows busted and mailboxes destroyed.
5. What was a place you wanted to visit when you were younger/now? I wanted to visit the Meteor Crater. It's in Arizona and the site where a Meteor fell from space and left a huge crater in the earth. So I went.
I did a solo road trip from Iowa to the meteor crater. It was my first real solo vacation and something I recommend that everyone do at least once in their lives (the meteor crater and the solo trip!)
6. If you were able to go back in time, would you have spent more time with your dad? Would you have played basketball with him that one day? Yes. Absolutely yes. But we can't go back in time right? So then for me it's making the most of my time with my parents now. Low key I STILL have a tiny dream that we can fix up a car together. Gotta get on that!
7. Do you still face racism as an adult in Iowa City?
Yes. 1000 percent yes. I was just talking to someone about this. You know how I start the book right, this incredibly grotesque example of cartoonish racism that I experienced as a boy. Yeah that was horrible and it still haunts me BUT in a way it was easy to grasp. Like it was so overt that it became something for me to overcome. Or that I knew exactly where that racist piece of shit stood. Here in Iowa City it's different. You might not get that overt stuff but its still there...which makes it different. It becomes micro aggressions, behind the scenes systemic things. Iowa City had THE worst number of amount of home loans granted to Latinos compared to the general population. When I say the worst I mean on a national level. That's racism too but it has the bonus of coming in the vehicle of gas lighting liberals who would never qualify themselves as racist (I mean how could they...they voted for Obama twice! Cue the biggest eye roll)
8. Even though you don't live very far away, do you still visit West Liberty often?
I try. My family still lives there. Like you said I'm not far at all. I'd say I try to go at least once a month. The weirdest thing for me is my family is coming to my home in Iowa City more and more. We have Christmas at my house. Which feels so incredibly bizarre not to celebrate at my parents place. But so it goes. Time changes everything.
9. Do you regret how you acted when you were younger?
Yes and no. Some of it yes of course. Any of the physical violence. The acts based on deep rooted trauma/pain. But some of the stuff I can't get myself to say I regret. The hoodlimizing stuff. I don't regret it because it shaped so much of who we were. Of who I am now. I think for a lot of us it’s this deal of being a part of something bigger than us...I needed to express myself through that in order to see that there were other, more productive ways to do it right. Dance and what not. I tell people...I'm due for some cosmic retribution...some punk kids that are going to tear out the flowers in my garden or terrorize my house via repeated eggings. I won't even be mad.
10. Do you plan on writing any more books?
YES. I'm working on one right now. :)
That’s it for now. Part two will be up soon! -C