no cameras allowed is a collection of autobiographical moments.

 

Moments captured by memory.

Not by photographs.

 

As an art director, I often feel saturated with photographic imagery and interactive stimulus— from selfies, 5 x 5 snapshots, pins, videos, etcetera. It's a breath of crisp air to share a story using only words.

 

I'm not a writer. But I like to write.

 

I grew up in Chicago and spent many of my early years roaming, literally roaming, the streets— of Ravenswood, Catalpa, Paulina, Rascher, Ashland, Clark and Bryn Mawr— with my neighborhood friends (circa 1977-1986). Our neighborhood was diverse and everyone seemed to know everyone. Maybe it's because we all went to the same school. I look back, in absolute awe of our freedom. Without adult supervision, we played until the streetlights came on, and in the summer we continued the play far into the night after gobbling down our dinners. My childhood was a shade of interesting as I was a genuine latch key kid, 'mixed' of Korean & Puerto Rican blood, and raised by a divorceé immigrant. I moved to the suburb of Skokie, north of Chicago when I was 15, then Lake Villa (as well as a couple of other states in between), and now reside in Niles, Illinois.

 

As time passes, my memory dulls. I may not remember minutia but there are details that stick with me for some reason or other. I write these mini stories from the perspective of being in that moment, at that time. Though the entries are numbered, they're not written in chronological order.

 

Thanks for visiting. I do hope you'll visit often.