My Home Page: Michael Dixon
Hello fellow Internet surfer and welcome
to my home page. I'm very glad that you made it this far . . . and I hope
that you'll stick around long enough to get to know just a little bit more
about me . After all, these days, acquaintances that begin in cyberspace
are often the most real, vivid, and long-lasting - and maybe that will
be true of us. A special moment
This is me on vacation. I'm on NCL's
S. S. Norway ( Like you couldn't tell from the picture). This was during
the 1997 Jazz Cruise. If you've never been on a cruise, you owe it to yourself
to go. More photos here.
My Background
I was born in San Francisco, California but
my family moved quite a few times, so I've lived in Pacifica, Daly City,
Oakland and Richmond, California. So I grew up having lived in the "best"
and "worst" part of town. I have a brother, a sister, two half-brothers
and three half-sisters. Now the two lights of my life are my two teenage
daughters, Nicole and Corinne. I currently live in El Cerrito, California
(about 20 minutes from San Francisco).
Some of My Interests
I guess that the best - and fastest - way
to really get to know me
is by discovering what I like. So here goes
. . .
I love a great movie - especially film noir.
I love roller coasters, playing pool, meeting
new people, darts and photography.
I'm an avid reader and I love dancing, especially
slow dancing, live music and comedy.
I also love beating my cousins at the latest
sports or fighting video game.
I
A Few More Photos
I love to travel and do so whenever I can.
I also love travel photos and have hundreds from my vacations.
The first is me in
Cozumel, Mexico. I had just finished a two hour horseback ride through
the Mayan ruins. It was at least 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Corona
time! The next one is me, my brother William and my sister Venise in Seattle,
Washington for my Mom's graduation (A Masters in Human Behavior from National
University). Picture three is me and my beautiful mother at Betelnut restaurant
in San Francisco (great asian food) for Mother's day last year. The last
is me in front of the magic fountains at Ceaser's Palace in Las Vegas.
Like to party? You really should check out Las Vegas at New Year's.
Links to My Favorite Sites
Another way to really get to know someone
- especially someone who spends
as much time on the Internet as I do - is
to learn their favorite sites
San
Francisco Bay Guardian (for news you won't see on TV)
Cnet.com (for
anything to do with computers)
For
great art I like this site (Not all of it is appropriate for children)
A
Special Moment in My Life
When I was 18, I had a job I
really liked. I sold and installed car stereos and other auto accessories.
It wasn’t a very lucrative job but I got to meet new people every day and
I really liked the 2 co-owners that I worked with. It wasn’t in a very
nice neighborhood but I had a friend who worked across the street at a
liquor store and when it was slow I would go to visit him. It was Friday
and I had just gotten paid. I went across the street a had Anthony give
me ten dollars worth of quarters. I would often stop at the arcade on the
way home, for an hour or two of playing Ms. Pacman. I lived at home and
didn’t have a care in the world. Later that afternoon, I was sweeping the
lot. I was daydreaming more than sweeping and was awakened from my daydream
by a woman standing in front of me. I sized her up quickly. She was considerably
shorter than my 5’11" height. She was a woman, caucasian, probably in her
late forties, with a lot makeup and it wasn’t applied very well. Her clothes
were quite plain, though clean. I can remember she was wearing a nondescript
khaki jacket and even plainer pants.
Now I looked at her face and could see that she was timid and a bit shy.
I smiled broadly to help her relax. It was what I had long ago learned
to do, being a black man, especially when I come in contact with elderly
white women. I noticed that she had not driven up and was puzzled. Still
I smiled, said hello and asked "What can we do for you?". She began to
look even more discouraged and sheepishly reached into her pocket and handed
me a business card. I was a bit confused since I know, sweeping the parking
lot in dirty coveralls, I couldn’t possibly look like the owner of the
business. She said nothing and actually looked even sadder and then simply,
dejectedly, looked down at her feet. I looked at the "business card".
On one side there were strange symbols and then I read the other side.
"Hello. I am deaf". "I am selling this card". "Please pay whatever you
think it is worth". I turned the card back over and saw that the symbols
were the alphabet and it’s equivalent in sign language. Immediately I understood
her sad demeanor. This was a blue collar city which had seen better days.
I’m sure that charity in this area was tough sledding. Without thinking,
I reached in my pocket and grabbed all of the quarters I could. I took
her hand and, while only dropping a few quarters on the ground, filled
both of her tiny, frail hands with my video game money. "She probably could
use this more than I" I thought. I couldn’t see her face because she was
staring at her hands. Slowly she began to look up at me. I’ll remember
this for as long as I live. Her face was totally different. I can only
describe the expression as unfettered joy. I just gave this woman some
of my video game money and she’s looking at me as if I had just handed
her the Holy Grail.
I felt a little silly and was about to laugh when I saw tears begin to
run down those poorly made up cheeks. She stuffed the money in her pockets
and I helped her pick up the ones we dropped. She quickly stood up and
just as I was going to turn away she reached out and hugged me. I hugged
her back and she kissed me on the cheek. I could feel the wetness of her
tears on my right cheek. She quickly backed up a step then placed her hand
over mouth and moved it forward a bit. I remembered the back of the card
and made the same motion. Thank you. The woman hurried away. I was stunned
for a moment. It took a minute to understand what had actually happened.
Smiling even broader now, I went back inside. "What did she want?" my boss
asked. I retold the story to him and he said "She probably wasn’t even
deaf". They laughed a little at my gullibility but nothing anyone could
say could bring me down. The hug and kiss of a total stranger stay with
me, even today, 20 years later. I wish I could see her again. I’d like
to thank her again for what she gave me.
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