Fragment: At A Trailer Park

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:17:00 -0600

When I was 5 or 6, my family briefly lived in a trailer park in southern New Mexico. I don’t remember why we were living there. Probably to run away from something or someone, usually bill collectors or repo men. It was easier to do that back then.

I was outside playing with the neighborhood kids. We ran around and raised hell. At some point we rested at one of those big, wooden picnic tables at the center of the courtyard. We talked for a while and began busting each other’s balls. One of the kids took it a little too far and began cruelly insulting the others. He turned his attention to me, called me names, made fun of my family. He jumped on top of the table and put his feet in my face. The anger welled up inside me and I saw stars. I couldn’t take the abuse anymore. I grabbed his ankles and yanked as hard as I could. The kid’s body slammed against the picnic table, and he made a loud thunk sound on impact–a sound that sound still resonates inside me to this day.

Fragments on Veblenia

Fragment: At A Trailer Park