Hello everyone, this is Vernon Dailey. This is a story of an adolescent kid growing into a teenage boy and then eventually a young man growing up in Berkeley, into adulthood. Like I said, a kid growing up in Berkeley, getting up in the morning, riding bikes, mini bikes, and go karts, and back in those days we used to go to Go Kart Speedway and pay the man to ride go karts and go around the track so many times.
That was an average day for me. I’m sure it wasn’t an average day for you. See, I grew up in the ‘70s where the hippies originated. If their door were open, they would invite you in and pass you the marijuana, and I would do just that. I’m about 16 or 17 and I got my first car, now here come the girls. I was a Berkeley square if you ask me, I didn’t get into the girls until I was about 17, or going to parties. It was fun. I’m 19 now and I met the woman of my life at that time, Donna. She was carrying my child. Her mother said she’s too young to have the baby. She had to get an abortion. It hurt us both that our child had to be put to death. In 2012 we got married and in 2013 she found out she had cancer. In 2014 she died, and that’s basically how I became homeless some yeàrs later. I couldn’t manage everything, the house, the cars, the teenage boys. I truly know the meaning of the eight letter word, “soulmate.” It’s Donna. I love my last ex-wife Marlene as well. I would like to thank St. Mary’s Center. God bless Street Spirit, and I would like to thank them as well for putting my story out there. These two programs helped me get a place and a car.
I was inspired to write this little piece by two people, a man and a woman. They didn’t know one another but I believe that both of them are interesting and wonderful people. One of them was a journeyman the other I believe was just a straight writer. I would like to thank them for inspiring me!
Vernon Dailey is a Street Spirit vendor who sells the paper outside Good Earth in Fairfax and Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley.