My Inner Antoine Fisher

Apr 08, 2009

Philly038.jpg picture by kingjuicy




yes, that's me rockin' the Rocky short, fist clinched and ready for war. Yo, I'm from Philly, wanna make sumthin up of it?


1971 Philadelphia Women's Medical, a child is born.  Born to a pair of young parents who had no clue on how to raise a child.  Too late I'm here and I'm happy for that Spring day that me parents were doing stuff they had no business doing.  Needless to say, I must have been getting my Michael Phelps on, or I would not even be here.

In West Philadelphia born and raised.....well raised until I was 4...then we loaded up the truck and move to Philly....North that is....Row Houses, Textile Factories....

My father was murdered right before my 2nd birthday. His mother and family remained in West Philly and again when I was 4 (02/14/1975) I moved to North Philly with my Mother and her parents and Aunt's and Uncles.

From 4 to 10 years old, I still kept in touch with my Father's family as my grandma on my Mother's side always took me over to spend weekends with my father's mother.  Over there I played with cousins that came over to see me. That was always a good thing.  Around that age, I already had plenty of friends where I lived and my visit to Grandma on the west side grew apart as I was always doing something else. 

Pretty soon, I wasn't going over there at all. Yeah I called and they called me, but a year went by and I didn't see none of them.  Stack on a couple more years and now I'm 17 and a freshman in College.  My life was so full and exciting, my father's family was never on my mind I hate to say.

Fast Forward, not it's 1992, I'm 21 and moved to Minnesota.  I had a dream about my father and thats when it hit me. "Wow, I have not seen nor talked to my Grandmother in 11 years. Shame on me, shame on both families for letting the link lapse.  I look her up and find out she's living in a nursing home in West Philly. We talke for hours and catch up on our lives. We update each other about other members of the families.  I still remember sitting in my living room that summer talking to her. I never occured to me how much I missed her.  But old habits live again. More years went by went by without us keeping our promise of keeping in touch.

A friend of mine who had access to some sensitive info did me a favor and found my Grandmother.  She didn't know how to tell me, but I forced it out of her. Grandma had passed.  So along with that sadness and quilt, I had no way now of finding the rest of my father's family.

Now it's 2006 and I start a quest to find my father's family so I can reunite with them.  I found a website that will tell you the names of people what lived at certain addresses....for a small fee or course.  Well I didn't have the address of the house she's owned for many years.  I called the one person who I credit with my smarts...My other Grandma (Mom's Mom).

****side note....my Mother passed in 2000, that's another story***********

I asked my grandma if she remembered the address of my other grandma. Without a blink, she recites the address as if she was just over there.  Later that night I pop it in this website and I get a TON of names. Some names I remember.  I even see my fathers name.  Most of them have numbers, but all of them were no longer in service. Well I'm getting closer so I'm excited because I'm on the right track.

I take all those names and go to another site and look up their names to see if I could find any valid phone numbers. Nothing.  Just on a whim, I put in a name that the other site gave me, but I didn't know this person. I looked them up anyway and got a number from Williamsport PA, no where near Philly.  Now outside of my Grandmother, my uncle Johnnie and Aunt Renee stood out. So I will drop their names if this number is valid.  I dial....

"Hello"
"Hello, I'm looking for Shane"
"This is Sha-Nay"
"Oh I'm sorry, well my name is George and I'm calling from Minnesota. I'm calling you because I'm looking for my family and your name and number came up during my search. Would you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"
"No, not at all"
"Thanks, my first question is Do you have family in Philly?"
"yes"
"Do you know Renee and Johnnie Taylor?"
"Yes, that's my Aunt and Uncle"

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Ok, what about Bertha Mortimer?"
"Yeah, that's my Aunt, but she passed some time ago"
"Ok, did you know she had a Son?"
"No"
"Well she did, and he passed in 1972, his name was Larry"
"Oh ok"
"And right now you're talking to Larry's son"
"Are you serious?, here give me your number, I have to make a phone call"

Shanay then calls her mother to verify everything I just said and I take it my story panned out because her mother started crying (as I was told). She then called Renee who told them to call me back in order to call Renee.

I emotionally dialed the number and Renee answered the screaming JESUS as she heard my voice. I cried too.  I found them. She talked about how no one knew where I was and how everyone missed me.  I missed them too, even if it was 25 years since I've seen them all.  We talked forever it seemed. Reminds me of the last talk I had with my grandmother. 

This time I made good on a promise and flew to Philly to meet my family that same year.  All my aunts and uncles knew I was coming and didn't tell my cousins.  Come to find out Renee know lives in that same house that my grandma lived in. It could have been as simple as just going to the house, but how did I know?

I landed, drove to Jersey to pick up my Gramda(Mom's mom) as she wanted to go with me.  We held hands the whole trip there. I pulled down the block and could see the kids playing and the grill smoke in the air among the trees.  An open parking spot was saved in front of the house...I pulled up with my stomach turning.  One of my uncles looked at me and allowed me to park. He looks right in my eyes, turned around and said "Yup, That's Him"

I got out the car and was mobbed.  My cousins didn't know what was going on. They all faced them and told them who I was.  One of my cousins who I remember as being so close with broke down in tears.  it was a crazy day. I've never been hugged and kissed, and cheeks grabbed so much in my life. It was great. That was one of my best days ever. We looked at pics, I played an old school game of rough house (21 to some of you).

Everytime I go to Philly, I make sure I see both sides of my family. I never at once felt so complete. 

Renee (whose pictured with me above on that fateful day) called me a week ago with a task. I guess I'm known to find people now.  The last time I was home, I attended the funeral of one of my uncles.  His only child was there, his daughter.  I say that because I never know he also had a son.  This time, they have not seen him since he was 4. She said his mother moved down south and they were never heard from again.

She gave me his son's name and wanted to know if I could find him.

It wasn't a common name, but my first stop for shyts and giggles was Facebook.

I entered a name and dayum, I got a hit. 

I sent this man a message and he thought it was a joke. We exchanged messages as I told him everything I knew.  He then told me he needed to ask his Mom a few questions.

Turns out it was indeed him.  Now it's his reunion time coming up.  We talk all the time and when he pulls up to the house this time, I will be the one sitting in the car with him.  Don't think we'll be holding hands, but you get the ideal.

Damn.  We are indeed family.

Thanks for listening.

Larry's Son aka Juice.

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About Me
Frozenville, MN
Location
49.7
BMI
RNY
Surgery
04/28/2009
Surgery Date
Aug 14, 2008
Member Since

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