An Albino Named Gus

The Jane Adam’s housing project bustled with children at play. I was one of those children who stayed out until the fireflies joined the party. I’d run off through the concrete animal court-with oversized cement figures of elephants, hippos and tigers smiling nonchalantly as we played tag; running and hiding behind them. Their paint was chipped and discolored from the wineO’s putting their cigarette butt’s out on them. We didn’t care tho. We would giggle and pick at stale old wads of gum stuck to their noses or hindsides. Those were the good ole days. I can still taste the flavor of mint and malt liquor. We’d put our lives in danger spinning on rusted metal merry-go-rounds that I’m certain had several screws loose and jagged sharp edges that would require a tetanus and isolation for a month if we got so much as a skin tear. Any time it rained, it flooded. The concrete jungle looked like a scene out of an end of the world movie. Smog from the gutters and back yard barbecues would choke a horse; a real horse tho, not the one with the painted on smile with “ Ricky loves Donna” sharpied across it’s top molars. I loved when it rained. I’d dress my little brother in his rain coat and boots; grab a paper bag my dad had lying on the kitchen table from his can of Pepsi and fill it with Cheerios and raisins and we’d be off. Gone.

Ms. Robinson was our neighbor. She’d be in her patch of yard watering it with her kitchen sink hose- shaking her head at us. Rolling her eyes and seething on a cigarette. We’d look back at her at stick our tongues out laughing at her water wet grass. We’d run past her grass patch and step on it before she could spray us with her hose. “ I’m telling y’all momma!” she’d yell after us. “ Y’all some bad kids!” We didn’t care tho, we were on our way to explore the rain gutters in the concrete jungle. Last time it rained, we found a soggy dollar and seventy -five cents. We were rich! We ran across the streets to Jimmy’s and spent thirty minutes picking out all kinds of penny candy. Bubble gum and fruit chews and those little gold wrapped chocolate coins. We sat and dumped all the paper wrappings on Ms. Robinson’s patch of grass and she told Momma. We had to clean her patch of grass for a week.

Whatcha think we gonna find today Ben? I asked my little brother. “A spaceship.” Ben replied childishly. “Oooooohh that would be cool, we can take off for the Moon right in Ms. Robinson’s yard!” I said laughing at the sight of her spraying at the rocket with her kitchen hose. “She wouldn’t catch us!” Ben exclaimed with jolly.

We took our usual spot; right behind the pink hippos butt. It’s where we found that dollar and three quarters. Maybe today we’d find another dollar. I sure hoped we did. That’s when I noticed him. He was in a Colt 45 bottle cap floating across the muddy puddle of rain water and debris. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, but there he was. Plain as the day is long A little white roach. He wore a yellow beret made from the petal of a dandelion and a blade of grass dressed around his neck like a fighter pilot. A pair of sunflower seed shells acted as oversized aviator “shades” even though the sun wasn’t shining. He drank fresh drops of rain from a tiny shard of glass and I could of sworn I heard Paris cafe jazz music in the far off background. “Ummm, hello?” I couldn’t believe I was speaking to him. This white roach was incredibly intriguing and more fashionable than the stylists for the cast of the Brady bunch. “Ummmm, hi!” I said again, this time with more volume in my voice. “Can you hear Me?” Ok. I’m crazy, I’m talking to a roach. A white roach. Not the brown one’s I see at my aunt Lisa’s house and my momma tells me to shake out my shoes before coming back in the house. This was an all white, roach. “Can you hear…” “Little girl, why I’m not deaf child.” Ahhhh… he spoke! He spoke to Me. “I’m Angel.” I introduced myself. “Hello Angel, I’m Gus. Very well to meet you.” You’re, you’re a roach? A white roach?” Gus chuckled in high society- “silly child, I’m not white, I’m an albino.” I was so different from my other eight hundred brothers and sisters that I have traveled the world in search of meeting other animals and creatures who are different just like Me.” “You traveled the world? How?” I questioned. “Well, I have made many friends along my travels, each of who has helped Me along the way.” “Friends?” I questioned. “Yes, friends; of all species and walks of life. They have helped keep me safe and see that I make it from one part of the world to the other.” “It’s been quite the adventure.” “ Well how did you get here? To the projects?” “I grew up here, and I came back to visit my sister, she just gave birth to her first nine hundred babies and I came to celebrate.” I haven’t seen my brothers and sisters in years, I was just about to board the country bound train to the Tennessee mountains when I got the signal to return home. It took me eight months to travel from New York to Tennessee, I was so close.” Gus held his thin roach legs out, barley touching, to illustrate just how close he was. “I carried a piece of New York style pizza crumb to the celebration, they were on it like roaches.” Gus chuckled. I cringed at the vision. Gus stood proud to be a roach, an albino roach; with many tales of his travels. He moved his many legs and arms animatedly when he described his fight with a pigeon trying to steal his sunflower seed shades. Gus was full of stories and surprises. He was so involved with talking that he, well we- didn’t realize he had floated to the opening of the drain hole. I’ll never forget his voice echoing as he went down the drain along with the debris he waved in on. “ it’s not how you start silly child; it’s how you fiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnniiiiiiiisssshhhhhhhhhh!” Farewell Gus, until we meet again.

“Who are you talking to?” Ben asked.

“I was not talking silly child, I was getting my start.”