Jillian, Age 31

Jillian Arnold, Activist, Summer 1992

She's tired.

Tired of your pointless excuses.  The countless reasons you give, for the endless torture she takes, mean nothing to her.  They never have, and never will. 

She's tired of your twisted logic.  Two left shoes never made for one good fit.  Yet you go on believing you can match ignorance with arrogance --- and end up with something less than disastrous.  It never works that way.    

She's tired of your endless hypocrisy.  Trash rolls off your finger tips minutes after her name leaves your lips.  If not seconds.  Look your mother in the face, shout those words of grace, but mean them for once.  She's never felt your love. 

She's tired of bearing your burdens.  EARTH is tired of absorbing your bad choices --- of feeling the consequences of your selfish acts, greedy endeavors, pointless injuries.  You keep testing her, and she never wants to let you down. 

But, the fact of the matter is...

She's tired. 

In Jillian's Closet... 

Jillian's Closet by thequeenknowsbest featuring the row sunglasses

Nina, Age 31

Nina Tan, Defense Attorney, Winter 1990

   My father always told me this moment would come.
 

     The right side of his brain has never quite been able to fathom how I could give up the stage for the stand.  "I raised you to create your own music", he would say, "not to play someone else's."   

    He had been disappointed before though.  When my mother left us.  When my brother went into rehab.  But, this time was unlike any other.  This time, the disappointment in his voice was peppered with fear.  Allergic to change, I could tell he was afraid for me every time I'd introduce him to one of my law school study mates.  They were a foreign species, and every paternal fiber in his being wanted to keep me from them --- from becoming one of them. 

     But, I am one of them now; and like a good little lawyer, I listen intently to my new client tell his side of her story.  My sympathetic tone and reassuring eyes convince him I am on his side.  Hunting spoils line the tall walls of his old family cabin, and I wonder how he can lie this easily with so many pairs of glassy eyes glaring down at him.
  

My father always told me this moment would come. 

In Nina's Closet... 

Nina's Closet by thequeenknowsbest featuring leather jackets

*The quote above is a fictionalized account inspired by the people and fashion of a photograph found here.*

Amanda, Age 17

Amanda Segall, Student, Summer 1993

     "You know," Steph says with a pause, "This will probably be our last summer together."  Observation blended with resignation makes quite a bitter brew.
     Contemplative, Steph slathers on the Coppertone, fighting tears with every stroke.  She was always the more sentimental --- dare say, dramatic --- of the two. 
     "Just because I'm going away for school, does NOT mean I won't ever see you again!"  Snatching the bottle in her most playful-manner, Mandy protests ... and proceeds.  "It's Boston Steph.  Not Bombay."  She was always the more realistic --- dare say, grounded --- of the two.  But deep down inside, Mandy knows that this time, Steph's fears have feet. 
     Reality steals a point.  But, Mandy goes in for the rebound.  "Well I don't know about you, but I'm sure not gonna spend what's left of this summer, down and out about the next!"  Pulling Steph to her feet, she shimmies her hips to a song only they can hear ... And summer never sounded so sweet.

      
 In Amanda's Closet...

In Amanda's Closet ... by thequeenknowsbest featuring high top shoes

*The quote above is a fictionalized account inspired by the people and fashion of a photograph found here.