Family Photos - A short story

Walking down the street in a rainy but empty street where a world has been torn apart by a novel virus called COVID 19. Walking across a bare street where the town square once thrived I walk up to one of the shop windows to see whether or not I want to give my family anything this year. But the problem is the small mom and pop store was closed due to the quarantine that's going on where social distancing, masks, and government lock-downs are the new normal.

When I was growing up didn't even get along with one of my uncles who always tells me that I show up too late and is way too hellbent on tough love, and watching football.

He always seems to kiss up to my Mom (because their siblings were born 3 seconds from each other) for me to hang out with him which I often get bugged by. He always takes away my book every-time I don't listen to one of his boring stories about him when he was fighting in Vietnam.

Most of the time when my Mom comes to pick me up I sigh in relief as I immediately grab my book and jump in the car.

#

As I walk back home, Opening up a bottle of 1945 Quest mire sitting while I pull up a stack of family pictures I have saved from the estate where my uncle has kicked the bucket. I got inherited some of the records a friend has got him, as well as his family Polaroids that look like they've seen better days.

I happen to swift across a photo where a group of my cousins, my uncles, and my Mother have gathered for a photo op after a church service let out that day. Soon as I saw that picture memories have come crawling back where I start reflecting on myself and my uncle I didn't really fond over.

Yes, I have complained about playing ball with him over playing video games. Yes, I have made complaints when I was simply ignoring him and got my book taken away.

But what can you expect me to do, I was a kid back then? I'm 26 years old now, never married, now working at home cause my photography business has shut down.

I have worked as a clerk for a bank when I was 18 years old. The bank most of the time didn't like me there so I've got laid off from that first job. When I turned 19 I began searching for work. I have searched and found a job for a pet photographer. An application has been filed and was hired on that same day.

The story was that a dog peed on the photographer's leg and got fed up and quit on the spot. The manager was on their wit's end at the time I applied for the job. But I got started immediately at that time.

#

Yeah, my uncle could've been a jerk in the eyes of a 4-year-old but all of my time with my uncle has made me the man I am today. I would've never become a photographer if it wasn't for him.

Maybe if I would've listened to him more it would've helped me to go through with what I'm doing now in the midst of a quarantine. I often go back to those times when life was still simpler, and all of our phones were still science fiction at the time.

I finally have finished my glass of wine as I hear a door knock. The door knock is my order of a thanksgiving meal from my food delivery app. It's full of gravy, corn, mashed potatoes, and mostly three sodas in a giant cup. I sit on my couch where I began unboxing the meal I had sitting on the coffee table.

I open up Netflix as I begin to scroll down what I wanted to watch. I finally settle on an old peanuts cartoon as I begin to munch away on the meal that was ordered.

I may be working at home at a time when things don't get more complicated. I would've been in my bed staring into the abyss of why my uncle did what he did when I was a kid.

But he helped me succeed in life I would've never done otherwise. Do I cry sometimes? Absolutely.

#

My uncle and I may have not seen eye to eye. But I have seen mostly right now that the world wasn't gonna be pleasant, it wasn't gonna be sunshine and rainbows, That's what my uncle was preparing me for when I became an adult. The reason why he took my book at the time is that people in the future will not tolerate you when you ignore them. People do not play nice when matters are not encouraged during adulthood.

Now looking back on my life, boy I do feel the things of adulthood that my uncle has described. Little did I know that life was gonna hit me hard. I sort of appreciating what my uncle has done during the adolescent years of my life. Yeah, he may have gotten under my skin sometimes with his "boring" stories that my younger self had a huge opinion on. Yeah, he may have gotten under my skin with his "tough love" and his 10-mile hikes in the forest. But at least he was honest whenever I acted out of line.

Little do I know that it can be that hard once you've hit 21 a few years later. It begins to take a toll on you such as finding a place to live, worrying about bills and your electricity when you finally find a place on your own.

As Peanuts finishes on Netflix as I place the photo album on the bottom shelf where all my old textbooks stand to this very day. "My name's Joey Manning, and my uncle I was mentioning was Henry Barkins."

"I have worked most of my life as a pet photographer up until the pandemic has hit, it hurt most of my business and my clients as the lockdowns occurred." "It has worn me down in terms of emotions and being quarantined and missing going to see your family."

"So I decided throughout the year that I turned to cartoons I used to watch as a kid to escape the realities that I'm currently living in."

It mostly has taken a lot of catching up on my childhood movies and cartoons that I have played on my old VHS tapes over two thousand times till the tapes completely get worn out. I mostly read while a movie goes on as I sit on a couch where I mostly sit since the quarantine started.

"Gone but not forgotten." Those are the words that come back to my mind whenever a loved one has passed on. Those are the words that come back to my mind when a friend leaves you, or when your cat runs away and never comes back.'

I have always taken those words for granted as a child (we all do) when it gets taught to you daily. It sounds like most of the time that people passing on and losing your job is all a part of The universe's plan.

Well, I guess everyone can interpret even if they're not religious.

I do believe in a higher power, but I am not very adamant about it. Interpret that if you will.