Memories of the “Unwanted and Unneeded”

Memories live on in the things that are “no longer needed or wanted”. As a young girl, I remember waking up on cold Georgia mornings not wanting to emerge from the thick wool blankets that covered me. If we were lucky we were blessed to have electric blankets that made us in some weird fashion seem privileged to have in those times. As I emerged from the warmth of my bed, the cold air chilled me as I held my thick cotton nightwear close to my body. As the flames roared brilliant colors of orange and red, I would watch the flames jump as the heat propelled from its mouth. The warmth seemed to not travel more than a few feet before the chill took over again. Moving closer and closer to the flames in an effort to stay warm without catching fire.  If it was not for this “no longer needed or wanted” friend, I would have frozen to death on those cold Georgia mornings. So I thought…as a young girl.

©All words and images by Tanya Graham