Hi, my name is Zachariah, and I used to think I was an alcoholic…
When you’re born in Florida and you live on an island with wild boars and third cousins on a citrus farm- you might be convinced you’re inbred or adopted.
I always assumed I was part of a human trafficking story.
Mostly because I moved so many times and could barely keep track of where we were or where we were heading.
My mother and I were gypsies in our own way.. Or we were in witness protection. Who fucking knows?
Sometimes in Florida I also fantasized about being an alien, because we used to be able to see the rockets take off from the Kennedy Launch Pad from the house.
My uncle told me that in january of 86 they saw the challenger explode in the air right in front of their faces.
My heritage is a little bizarre.
On my father’s side we are Cherokee and Irish.
On my mother’s side we are Cherokee, blackfoot, and Irish.
My Godmother is Cuban.
My friends were dominican, korean, and japanese, because my father was a martial artist and stunt trainer for Universal.
We moved from Florida, to Ohio, to Michigan, back to Ohio, and Then finally stayed in Michigan where I finished most of my schooling.
When my mother re-married she had four half puerto rican babies. Their grandmother is from Ecuador.
My uncle married a Filipino woman and had two children.
None of us look related. But we all have a common love for food and drinks
You could never eat enough or drink enough.
If you were skinny, it was because you didn’t eat.
If you were sad, it was because you didn’t eat.
If you were tired, it was because you didn’t eat.
I wanted to strangle abuelita so many times when she tried to force me to eat more rice, beans, platanos, ham, and salad.
My mother’s father and I were especially close.
I took my first steps with him. I played in mud with him and pissed my mom off.
We took road trips. Shot rifles. Climbed trees. Jumped on trampolines.
He was unstoppable. We instigated trouble.
Jim Sutton (my grandfather) was a navy brat and war veteran. He was my favorite person.
Every time I ran away or needed a place to go during my times of change I would stay with him.
When I was sixteen he taught me some pretty interesting things that most parents would flip their shit about…
How to roll a joint.- Which I have honestly forgotten how to do.. How to make THC butter. The kind that puts you in a coma.. And how to play roulette & craps.
He taught me how to cook Lasagna, and because of it I would win every time my mother and I would have a contest.
Also, how to make a very tasty margarita.
A Margarita is 7 parts Tequila, 4 parts Cointreau, and 3 parts Lime Juice… Squeeze lime juice on the rim of the glass, and dip the edges in sea salt till it coats the outside. Garnish with a lime wedge.
A budweiser is 5% alcohol and is a pale lager made by Anheiser-busch.
The requirements to drink these are:
- Don’t be a piece of shit.
- If you’re up and I’m out we simply say,”SinceYewWas!” which is the shortened version of “Since you are up and walking over there, grab me another one please.”
My grandfather grew up quite poor, so he always had interesting ways of turning food into an experience.
When I was very young he would make popcorn on the stove. Oil a pan, place the kernels inside, and keep the burner on until they start to pop rapidly.
Now most people get the popcorn going, put a lid on it, and go about their business.
We never did that. we had no intention of making popcorn to sit on our ass and watch a movie.
Once the popcorn was popping- he kept the lid off and we would catch the puffs of corn in our mouths and watch it fly everywhere in the kitchen.
That was our entertainment.
It was messy and probably had a chance of burning an eyeball or two, but it was so exciting.
smiles everywhere.
Another treat he loved to make was butter sandwiches.
Butter is full of fat and cholesterol so in order to stay satiated and not feel hungry, his parents would feed them butter slapped between two pieces of white bread.
Most of the meals they had were stews and soups with bread and corn. Maybe potatoes. Cheap items.
My great grandfather was a butcher, so sometimes they got lucky and were able to bring home strip steak or flanks.
I know the gluten/vegan people out there are cringing, but you do what you have to do to survive.
All of our talks about life, goals, and aspirations were in the kitchen.
Whether we were making margaritas. Singing Karaoke. Dancing. Taking pictures.
Everything revolved around this ugly, 1970’s kitchen table and these bright canary yellow chairs that had wheels on them, and they would swivel.
My grandfather would sit next to the radio and the coffee maker, chain smoke, and I would sit across from him, and we would just talk.
Sometimes we’d pass a joint back and forth. Drink coffee.
He gave me my first guitar when I was 15 and I learned how to play, “silver wings, shining in the sunlight” by Merle Haggard.
He encouraged me to talk to all types of people.
My grandfather thought I didn’t know, but he was kind of like the halfway house for druggies and alcoholics.
There would always be someone staying in his extra bedroom or the back house that was made like an insulated barn.
We would have dinner with his friends. My friends. His girlfriends who were always 20 years younger than him.
I taught a lot of his girlfriends how to slow dance.
They taught me how to kiss and be affectionate.
Sounds weird now saying that out loud, but at the time it just made sense.
During one conversation with my grandfather when I was 20- I looked at him sipping his coffee and smoking his cigarette.
He looked at me and said,”What’s up Zachy?”
I told him with a blank face that “you’re going to die at this table one day.”
He laughed and said,”Maybe you’re right!”
Then we talked about his cancer and alternative therapies he was trying.
Accupuncture. Herbal remedies. Nicotene patches.
On Tuesday October 16th, 2007 I was right.
My grandfather died at his kitchen table at home by himself while he was having his morning coffee and a cigarette.
That table has since been removed.
The house was renovated.
His belongings went to myself and my brothers and then to charity.
My uncles stole a lot of things out of selfishness.
My mother and my siblings live in his old house that was built by my great grandfather.
It was a sad time. It is still hard, but we have all grown.
I think when people die you either try to forget them or as my grandfather would prefer to say,”You keep the dream alive.”
So when we finished renovating the house I started doing a lot of the things my grandfather would do.
I let people stay with me if they needed to get away from an abusive situation.
We always cooked enough food for guests to come over and join us.
My mother and I would make margaritas and play music loudly in the kitchen and dance around.
Even when I wasn’t home, I would find myself in the kitchen of someone else’s home.
Cooking, talking, or just doing their dishes for them while having conversation.
I would bring my guitar with me and we would sing songs together or make up funny renditions of songs we hated.
We subconsciously celebrated my grandfather's life and the magical things he taught me.
And of course, the pivotal moment in my life and something that made me feel even closer to my little brothers and even closer to my grandfather...
Was making popcorn on the stove and seeing them laugh and catch the popped kernels as they flew all over the kitchen off of the stove.
As they’ve grown older, I have witnessed them do it on their own accord, and now there are three generations of young men who learned how to let go and have fun.
Something so simple becomes so magical.
My name is zachariah and I realize I’m not an alcoholic.
I’m not a foodie. Or a drug abuser. I’m not an alien. I’m not a kidnapped victim.
I just learned from a very important man who traveled the world that life is too short to sit still and never laugh or dance.
