“Walking In Sand” by Sha’mon P Couppoe

By Sha'mon P Couppoe
May 24,1979 at 12:37 a.m., in Fort Pirece FL, at the Glen Dale Medical Hospital, I was born to Gloria Wilson and Leo Dallas. It was a very joyful day that morning in the hospital, as my Grandmother, Aunt and brother looked at me and my mother. Now the only male figures that morning in the room were my brother and the doctor. Later on in life I would find out why my father was not there. Well, 19 months went by and I found myself, my mother, stepdad and brother a long way from Fort Pierce to Atlantic Beach, South Carolina. That's right everything was packed up and loaded in to a U-Haul truck. When we arrived at Atlantic Beach we went straight to the enjoy the sand, wave's and water. Thirty minutes after getting settled on beach, I took my first steps in the sand and for some odd reason my mother said to me, “oh you walking in sand at 19 months baby boy you gone be fast”. Well after Atlantic Beach we drove to Lake City, S.C. where we had some family; a grandmother, two aunt's and one uncle. 

As the days, weeks, months and years past by, in the eyes everything seemed normal. On the night before my 6th birthday me and my brother was playing threw out the house. When we ran into the kitchen I noticed black trash bags full of something and stacked around the back door to the ceiling. It had to be at least 30 bags full to the max and the kitchen had a smell like the stuff my mother and stepdad would smoke. As I stood in amazement, my brother’s attention was caught up on something my stepdad was doing on top of the kitchen table. I was not tall enough to see on top so when I pulled myself up and rested my chin on the table, I seen a mountain of white flower, stacks of rubber band money, rolls of coins and plastic bags with white looking pancakes in them.

Then all of a sudden my rump was popped and I was told to get my ass down by my mother. As I dropped down, my stepdad handed me and my brother a roll of quarter's together and said go to the store. While my mother was standing in the background,

"I told you about letting them see all this stuff”. 

The minute we came back threw the door with bags of candy, the lights in the whole house went out. But then came back on with both front and back door's coming off the hinges. All I heard was, “hands in the air, laydown, get down, don't move this is the F.B.I”  These people entered our project house with their faces covered. They placed me, my brother, mother and stepdad on the couch, as they took bags and bags of stuff out our house. Now my mother and stepdad both had they hands behind them for what I don't know.
And two hours after coming threw our door they were now placing my stepdad in a car and my mother with us in another car. Ten minutes after pulling off we were pulling up to my Grandmother's house.