Who Are We?

We are from basketballs and double-dutch; from Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Coca-Cola, and hot lunch.
We are from the neighborhood; streets with corner stores and parks that smell like barbeque.
We are from the dandelion and the daylily; locust trees and mountain ash.
We are from family picnics and church; from the Ruiz’s, the Jankowski’s, and the Jones’s.
We are from the cell phone, the iPod, and digital TV.
From you will never amount to anything to you can achieve your dreams.
We are from Baptists, Catholics, Jehovah’s, and Lutherans.
We are from Mississippi and Georgia; from California and Wisconsin.  From collard greens and bratwurst.
From mothers and step-fathers, from a soft kiss good night and the grasp of a calloused hand
We are from patchouli and hair-grease, the picture folder on a jump-drive, and the land of two seasons – winter and summer.