Returning To My Roots - Lance Lee

At 3 or 4 in the morning, my dad would drag me out of bed down to our minivan then over to this little gas station.

It's tucked in on the corner of Kinnickinnic & Oklahoma Avenues in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

My dad would grab us breakfast sandwiches, a drink, & maybe some lottery tickets. My favorite were the scratch-it kind.

Long before sunrise our van would be full of newspapers, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal, bound in plastic bags & rubber bands.

I'd sit in the back & toss newspapers when it was safe to while my dad hustled through his routes.

We'd make it home before my family was awake. My dad & I would watch public television cartoons together while he got ready for his second job.

These mornings shaped my college career & the talent I have as a storytelling creative.

Our house & the corner gas station are where my concepts of the world began & were my work ethic is rooted.

In spite of all the change the neighborhood has experienced, the house & gas station still stand practically unchanged.

I've changed a lot as a person, too, but my memories & what was rooted here in Bay View still stands practically unchanged.

I got to visit my first "home town" & explore it alone last March for the first time in 20 years. I am so thankful for my roots.

Life is good.