storytelling
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“The man Who Always Looked Up”
As a child, severe asthma often sent me to the emergency room before sunrise. Years later, I found myself standing beneath the biggest tree I could find, remembering something my mother once told me about peace. Continue reading
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”Just Try ”
Many years ago I worked for a man named Don Orlando. He always encouraged me to start my own business. At the time, I didn’t think much of his words. Years later, after he passed away, I realized they were one of the greatest gifts he ever gave me. Continue reading
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”The Shadow”
One morning, shadows stop following their owners. Mine introduces himself as Robbie. What begins as an impossible conversation slowly becomes something much more familiar. Continue reading
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”The Closet”
I thought the television would have the most to say. Instead, it was the closet. Every morning it quietly watches me choose who I’ll be for the day. Maybe the ordinary things know us better than we realize. Continue reading
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“Maybe fragments are enough sometimes.”
📓 May 21, 2026 — 10:36 a.m. Okay, I am trying to relax and sit here in my studio. I am going to reminisce about a moment in my past because I tend to always attack sadness head on. Maybe too often. ⸻ Back somewhere between 2009 and 2012, I was doing late-night deliveries in… Continue reading
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The Boy Who Doesn’t Belong 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle
Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi Another day, another puff of this cig — little swirls of smoke gliding between my fingers. Here in South Central I sit, on the curb, seeing. Today’s story is that of a young man, twenty-two years of age, soon to be twenty-three — a young man caught between two worlds.… Continue reading
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“Every Shade of Purple”
A quick trip to help housekeeping turned into a purple fever dream — the night I stepped into Prince’s world. Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi I used to work in a hotel in Beverly Hills back when I was twenty-two. I was a houseman. Some of the stories from that place and time I’ll eventually… Continue reading
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You Don’t Have to Wait for the Storm
Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi 📓 Sunday, October 19, 2025 — 4:39 p.m. El Mercadito, East L.A. There’s a woman who always buys from me. She’s in her forties — kind eyes, warm smile, a little tired. Her mother usually runs a stall here at El Mercadito, but she’s in Mexico right now, getting treatment.… Continue reading
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“Shit was not good today — shit happens sometimes.”
Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi 📓 Tuesday, August 5, 2025 – 6:47 p.m. Today, I woke up positively, like I’ve been doing lately. A little tired, since I’ve been having a hard time sleeping at night. Don’t know why. Some might say it’s the past on my mind. Or maybe I’m overthinking the… Continue reading
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Then He Was Gone 🥷 — A Hood Chronicle
Follow me on X: @punisherpapi · IG: @punisherpapi A puff of smoke rises from the grid of South Central L.A. Let it swirl — a signal, a ghost, a memory finding its way back through time. This story takes place in a faraway place — where casino lights never sleep, and the call girls wander the desert nights… Continue reading