Main Character Shorty

Recipe: German Chocolate Shortbread

My favorite breakfast lately, Turkish Eggs, 2024

Being raised by my mother still influences my worldview when it comes to conversing with others. There was a year of my childhood where my mom dropped me off at school before relying on the bus. Exiting the family Ford Bronco, my mother would say, “Go make friends with someone interesting.” I believe she just wanted me to make a friend. I took interest in a fringe child, someone on the outskirts of the main class. Toni was the daughter of one of the teachers at school and had an overactive mind. She needed time to wind down, she was the last to fall asleep for nap time and Toni was insufferable when she was displeased. Sarah, Nicole and Joanna were lauded for their conventional and consistently appropriate manners but I was drawn to Toni’s character.

I would have loved to become friends with any of the agreeable gals in my class. Often what they had to say felt preprogrammed and rehearsed by their parents. When Toni was at a “full Toni” her mother would be called into the class to calm her down. I loved that Toni had no shame and expressed herself fully. The level of vulnerability Toni showed at a young age would make any modern adult crumble. Toni was a prism, capturing the energy around and dispersing a colorful display wherever she was. The Lisa Frank trapper keepers most of the girls had were pristine showcasing how new they could keep them. Toni’s trapper keeper was bent and had rose gold stars over the unicorn's eyes because as Toni would say, “my unicorn needs more sparkle.” After making a statement like that Toni would usually let out a distinguished fart then laugh.