The Ultimate Measure - Life as I Know It

By Anton D. D. Charles

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635688443

Book preview

cover.jpg

The Ultimate Measure - Life as I Know It

Anton D. Charles

Copyright © 2017 Anton D. Charles

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2017

ISBN 978-1-63568-843-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63568-844-3 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

The intention of this book is not to be misinterpreted for the purpose of slander and defamation. This book is simply me expressing my experiences in life from birth until I began my journey as a writer.

Chapter 1

Fighting For Life

M

y birth, as

my mother tells the story, was traumatic. I almost didn’t have the opportunity to experience the things I’ve lived. On September 4, 1985, my mother went to the hospital to give birth to me. Little did she know she was in for a scare. Sitting in the waiting area, she noticed that I had already begun to enter the world. The top of my head exposed, she got up and walked to a room with a bed and somehow got up on it and lay there. This moment, I began to exit her body and came into the world, and when I did, she held me in her arms. Looking at me, she noticed I was unresponsive to her voice, her touch, and every attempt she made to get me to acknowledge her. She began banging on the wall to get the attention of the nurses and doctors. It was confirmed I was losing oxygen. My skin began to turn yellowish, and my veins noticeable blue. Eventually, help came, and I was saved. I regained consciousness, and I was left with jaundice. My dad came to the hospital later on as he worked the graveyard shift. She didn’t speak much more on it as it brought back some emotions, but she did state the fact that she knew God had plans for me.

In 1990, my parents decided to journey to the United States in pursuit of a better life for us, my older sister and brother and my younger brother. We were left in the care of our aunt, her sister, where it was said we would be until our parents figured things out. Living arrangements with my aunt was tight. I mean we had uncles and cousins young and old. Meals were big and delicious, which was good since I loved to eat. I was a playful child. I loved laughing and making jokes, which also got me into trouble at school. It didn’t stop me though. I was determined to get a laugh or something out of people, but nevertheless, I was loved.

As time went on and we got older, I often wondered what it would be like if our parents could see us or even be with us, how things would be. I found myself being troubled, and I struggled with anger and the thought of when we would be with our parents. Being the child that I was, I didn’t show much other than when I was in a happy laughing mood or just staring up pissed, and about what at the time I had no clue.

At the age of eight, I almost threw my life away because of my anger. If someone did something to me that I deemed unfair or just downright mean, I would try to get them back even though I wasn’t tall. And being frail didn’t make a difference; I was determined to get you. Walking through the neighbor headed to the store, this kid pulled my arm over my shoulder to the point where I could see my fingers. I cried for mercy, but it didn’t stop. I took it and left. I went to the store and back home, but I didn’t stay home. I went and got a machete to go handle the problem since he was bigger. But I wasn’t able to, because my cousin ran into me before I could get to him. That evening, I got a whipping beyond my wildest dreams, and my aunt explained that the consequences of my actions could have led to my imprisonment.

Growing up in a Third World country, I found myself wanting more out of life. I had dreams that even I didn’t see how I could live them. We had very little, and the hunger just pushed me to want more. I used to watch my uncle work on his cars, and I was eager to learn. I had toy cars that I took apart to see and hope it worked, and at times I couldn’t put it back together, which would lead to me getting into trouble for destroying it.

There was a saying I heard as a child, and it was Waste not, want not. I didn’t really understand until I got a little older. Everyone knows that with age come wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Humans are supposed to get better with time, but me, well, let’s just say I had a different way of thinking and doing things. If I felt like something that someone said to me was unjust, I fire back, which lead to me getting into hot water with my older family. If I felt like there was nothing you could say to me to get me to change, I wasn’t going to, especially if you weren’t someone I looked up to, which I did have many of those period.

This brings me to the fact that there was a lot of alcohol abuse. From a personal standpoint, I didn’t want to be a part of it, but I had no choice. I lived there, and when the abuse took place with the bottle, it also led to the physical. I think the worst experience was watching my cousin physically abuse my aunt because there was nothing that could be done to help her other than us screaming for it to stop. I remember when my cousin turned the abuse toward my sister—well, attempted. That day I pulled a knife and made