Taxi

By Jose Marine Jr.

This book is about Marco the person who I love with all my heart.
I had difficulty choosing a name for this book, but finally decided to title it TAXI. To me, my life experiences of living were like I was being picked up and given rides in a TAXI. Upon arriving at each destination, there was another TAXI waiting to pick me up again.
If you are reading this book, I would like for you to travel with me in my TAXI rides so you can experience the hardships and triumphs I encountered at an early age and throughout my life which caused me to be the person I am today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664132399

Book preview

TAXI NUMBER 1

T his is the first time I began to remember events about my life. I remember taking a bath in a tub, but I didn’t know how I got there. I was in Stanley and Lydia Broxton’s house in Wabasso, Florida. At that time, Stanley and Lydia had a daughter named Carolyn Ann, whom I called my big sister.

I had a loving relationship with Lydia, whom I called Mama Lydia. I never had a father and son relationship with Stanley, but he was a great provider.

I assume I was still speaking Spanish at the time because I was told I was retained in first grade because I didn’t speak English fluently. I remember being in the class of Mrs. Smith, who was my first-grade teacher but not for two terms. I guess I learned how to speak English in one school term.

Mama Lydia was my second-grade teacher. I had to stop calling her Mama Lydia while we were at school because she wanted me to call her the same name that my classmates used, which was Mrs. Broxton. I never, ever, called her Mama Lydia again. I believe not calling her Mama Lydia was the beginning of the end of our loving relationship, but I didn’t realize it at the time.

There were three events that occurred at Douglas Elementary, the school I attended, that had an early impact on my life.

The first event happened in Mrs. Broxton’s classroom. Solomon told Mrs. Broxton that Eddie—his brother—and I were smoking cigarettes under the grocery store that Stanley owned. I had taken a pack of Camels from the store, and yes, we were smoking, but I didn’t think Solomon would tell on us. The punishment I received for that event from Mrs. Broxton was abusive. She placed me in a chair in front of the classroom, and she struck me across my back with a rubber strap. Each time she hit me, I would run to the back of the class, and she would demand for me to come back and sit in the chair. I never thought about what the other students were thinking while she was striking me until I wrote this book, and I never thought to think why she was punishing me at school for something I had done at home.

I think Mrs. Smith was the reason she stopped. Mrs. Smith came to the door of the classroom and spoke with her. I don’t know what they said to each other, but Mrs. Broxton didn’t strike me anymore after Mrs. Smith left.

Another event that affected my life at Douglas Elementary was when the principal, Mr. Smith, whipped every student in the school because there was a lot of paper on the school grounds. He told all the students to get in line, and as the students entered the building, he struck each one twice on their bottoms. I didn’t get in line because I hadn’t been outside that morning, and I hadn’t thrown paper on the grounds. To my surprise, Mrs. Broxton told me to get in line like the other students. I received a punishment I did not deserve.

The third event that happened to me was when Mr. Hunter, my fourth-grade teacher, paddled me because I called him an ugly son of a bitch. Yes, I did call him the name, but he didn’t hear me. A classmate, Ruby, told Mr. Hunter that I called him the name. I told him he didn’t hear me call him that, and Ruby was not telling the truth, so he had no right to paddle me. He paddled me in the classroom anyway. What was very traumatic about this event is that I was sent to the office of the principal, who was Mr. Todd at this time. Mr. Todd was going to paddle me for the same thing, but I wouldn’t allow that to happen. I ran out of Mr. Todd’s office and off campus. There was a student named Glenn, whom Mr. Todd wanted to catch me. I knew I was faster than Glenn, and he couldn’t catch me. Eventually, Mrs. Broxton came out to the front of the school and spoke with Mr. Todd. As a result, I wasn’t paddled by him.

I guess we can say that I didn’t get off to a good beginning in elementary school.

My third-grade teacher was Mrs. Jackson. She was the meanest teacher I ever had. This lady never smiled, and when she did, you would think something was wrong with her.

Mr. Panley was my fifth- and sixth-grade teacher. He was very firm but fair. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said. I always wanted to dress like him.

I attended Gifford High School in Gifford, Florida, for junior high school, which included seventh to ninth grades. There were no middle schools. Getting acclimated to the junior high environment was somewhat challenging for me, especially riding the bus to school, changing classes for the first time, and being responsible for getting to class on time without a teacher’s assistance. I managed to weather the storm. I was no academic star in junior high; my grades during this period were average.

The ninth grade is when I had the greatest learning experiences that happened to me as a child. It was the year that I met my first girlfriend, Martha. I think she really liked me, but I was very immature. To this day, I have at least one dream about her every year. Carolyn had gone to college, and Barry had been a toddler. Yes, Stanley and Mrs. Broxton had a baby boy. At the time, I believed Barry took Mrs. Broxton’s love from me, and subconsciously, I resented him for taking my place.

I became a rebellious adolescent. I resented Carolyn for marrying Dolphus. You see, I saw my life as being alone. My parents left me, Barry took Mrs. Broxton from me, Dolphus took Carolyn from me, and