Margaret Jimenez
Bio
After a lifetime working in the world of nonprofits, I now aspire to be a writer. I've earned a writing degree in creative nonfiction, although as a lifelong bibliophile, I love to read fiction. Plan to continue to dip my toe in that genre.
Stories (9)
Filter by community
545 West 125th Street
Summer nights at 545 were usually sweltering, noisy, and buzzing with activity. From the vantage point of our second-floor fire escape, we were always privy to what went on below. Our neighbors, mostly Antilleans, looking to escape the heat of their small, non-airconditioned apartments, would come downstairs as soon as the sun set to sit in what they hoped would be the cool New York City night air and find some respite. I, for one, always marveled at the range of materials they would bring down to sit on. Some would bring a beach chair or two. Others would borrow milk crates from the bodega next door. Still, others would find a spot on the front stoop of our building on 125th Street in West Harlem, often blocking the entrance but graciously moving out of the way as others came in and out. My earliest memory of home is this tenement building and community. I lived there with my family for my first 12 years, and we always called the building by its number - 545.
By Margaret Jimenez2 years ago in Families
The Good People
Chapter 1 “Ocama, Yuiza, ocama…” Inamoca presses me to listen. I hear the sounds of the rainforest all around me, but we are listening for the noise of the Yu’ Guami’ke’na, the white devils, the ari.’ They are invaders on our island. I am Yuiza, Warrior Princess. I once greeted them with a warm, hospitable Taíno welcome, yet they only brought death and destruction to my people.
By Margaret Jimenez2 years ago in Fiction
Is it Rejection or Redirection?
Sometimes rejection just means redirection. Although being denied an opportunity, for whatever reason, can leave you feeling defeated, it isn’t or shouldn’t be the end-all of what you are seeking to accomplish. Ask yourself - could it be that you are destined to go in a different direction? Could it be that it is in that new path where you will find what’s meant to be? If your immediate goal is about finding a new job, take the time to think about how you can use your past experiences and skills in a whole new way and perhaps even in an entirely new environment.
By Margaret Jimenez4 years ago in Motivation
A Sheepskin Journey
There are many things in life one lives to regret. For me, a major one was quitting my college studies back in 1982. At the time, I thought I had made the right choice. I considered factors that led me to that fateful conclusion, and at the time, at least for me, it was a justified decision. However, I would look back on it in the intervening years and see the consequences it wrought. I could not apply for roles I was well qualified for due to my lack of a degree and passed over for promotions for the same reason. I faced significant hurdles in my work-life to attain what I did, and often many well-meaning managers and colleagues reminded me that a college degree would have significantly changed my trajectory in life. So, I wondered if that was true and pondered whether I had it in me to go back and finish what I started so long ago.
By Margaret Jimenez4 years ago in Education
Vaporwave & fdsdf
What I was hearing was a cross between Muzak and futuristic synth-like sounds overlaid with discordant beats and rhythms. I wasn’t sure what to make of it since so many of us are conditioned to think of and or listen to music in a certain way. Harmony, beats, fluid, and congruent melodies are what we expect listening to tunes. I’m partial to soulful rhythms as they are what have always captured and held me in time, but this piece was different. The sounds on this track were dissonant, a tad jarring yet stirring in parts, interspersed with odd loops and crossfading that felt like a journey down the rabbit hole in song. It was nothing like I’d ever heard before. I learned this music is called Vaporwave, and with artist names like The Darkest Future, HKE, and Telepath, it piqued my curiosity. I knew I wanted to learn more about it and I knew just who to ask.
By Margaret Jimenez4 years ago in Beat
City Dweller Reflections
A city dweller spent their life in cozy quarters. They'd only ever known a concrete jungle. In the Spring of 2020 as the world awoke to news of unexpected danger, they began to shelter in place. They were told to take precautions, so they did their best to fend off the menace in play. Their quotidian motion, now arrested, bought them time, and time brought opportunity. It was a chance to see what busyness had been hiding. They noted the quiet those early days. All were confined, movements halted, restlessness stilled. Their close view of the world outside was a non-descript parking lot like so many interspersed throughout their great city. Filled with different makes and models of their neighbors’ cars, they'd only always noticed the same ones. There was the little covered sportscar. It had always been there. They knew it by the shape, but the color they couldn’t recall. It remained invisible under the old tarp. They saw the dilapidated yellow Volkswagen, still parked in the same spot. No one seems to drive it out of the parking lot anymore; they mused. So many cars are what they saw, until the leaves of Spring began to obscure the view of what was below their vantage point.
By Margaret Jimenez4 years ago in Earth
Irritation of Purity
The crumbling edge of the rooftop was as enticing as ever. I stood on the edge, peering down into the streets; the pitch darkness seemed more reminiscent of an ingurgitating void. The sun peeked over the ocean horizon as dawn came, leaving the hundreds of decaying buildings awash in an orange hue. The city was a hollow crypt, as it had always been.
By Margaret Jimenez5 years ago in Futurism
