There are about more than half a dozen of pictures of me and my cousin Eric like this at home. He is five months older than me, and we grew up together. We played everyday in the backyard, and the big tree out there was a spaceship, a giant octopus...or whatever it needed to be to get our adventure going. He liked to punch me on the back just to see me grasp for air. I don't remember a day that he didn't make me cry. My mom scolded him, saying that that was no way of treating a lady. That was the first time that I recall being referred to as "a lady".

After our sixth birthday, Eric came to visit on weekends only. After our fifteenth birthday, I rarely saw him. He was "in a band". He never went to college. Around 20 years of age, he showed up at family parties with a different girlfriend every time, and he already had a pretty stable job at a reputable loaning agency. Eric married at age 25 to a rich girl (a co-worker), and a year later he started an independent financial consultation business, or something like that.

Me? I'm 26, and in a rock band. I'm in graduate art school. Do I know that many guys whom I'd like to show up with at family gatherings? 'Don't think so. Will I ever get married? 'Hope so. And of course I would like to succeed in my career.

submitted by Lisa Ortega
Cupey, Puerto Rico USA
November 1997