Shannon Gattison
Bio
ATBS is here to refresh your Urban Literacy palate. Take a walk on the wild side as Shann navigates you through the gritty city - 1 novel at a time!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0948N3X2X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_TKNW5BK5EVB8NGXAF25M#
Stories (2)
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Thank God For Morty
Thank God For Morty Everyone’s favorite Pup Being an only child isn’t easy. All the things that you could have done with a sibling you end up doing with your parents. It’s even harder when your parent is a single parent. That was my daughter’s entire childhood upbringing. Just her and I. Being that I was her only present parent we did everything together. If she wanted to have friends over or playdates I’d set it up for her so that she would be happy and so that the boredom she faced daily with Mommy playing all the games would have some ease. She’d have tea parties (invite only) game days, book club, movie dates etc. I’d have to come up with multiple creative ways to keep my only child happy and entertained. As she got older those things didn’t work as well. She wanted a brother and a sister and I did not. I explained to her that having a baby wasn’t that easy and so every year she started asking me for a different pets. She’d start off small asking for fish or turtles and I’d oblige. Because I worked so much and she was so small they’d live with us only to later die and she’d cry her little eyes out. One year she asked me for a puppy. I didn't want to take on such a huge responsibility and we had very limited space. It was enough on me already paying all the bills buying all the food and taking care of her and I alone so I’d simply tell her to choose a different pet until she became older and a little more responsible. One year I brought her a set of parakeets they didn't have the same effect as a puppy would have but they were hers and she loved them. Every day after she come home from school she’d release them from the cage and chase them as they fly throughout our small one-bedroom New York City apartment we had in the Bronx. They'd poop everywhere. I’d be the one chasing them back to their cage and cleaning up all the poop. One day the exterminator came into our place to spray and sprayed near the birds by accident when she came home from school that afternoon they were both dead. The way that devastated my then 4 year old made me aware that maybe her having a pet wasn’t ideal at the moment. The next year we moved to a huge two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. The question of a baby sister or a puppy became an everyday thing. “Mommy we have a lot of space” she’d say. I would have to talk her down to no sister yet and maybe smaller quieter pet. To stop the baby asking I bought her a rabbit. She named him cuddles. She loved her rabbit and took very good care of it. When she turned 8 he died by electricity devastating my baby girl all over again. Then I brought her another to ease the pain. When she turned 10 he became sick and my then-fiance took him to the aspca and left him there. I decided that we weren’t pet ready yet and that was the end of that. I compensated by once again having get-togethers, play dates, sleep overs movie night etc. As she began to get older in her teenage years she constantly asked for a puppy. I worked too much and didn’t want to risk anything happening to a puppy on my watch. First it was the birds, a fish, two turtles she even had a baby chick, then the two rabbits so I declined. That meant I had to be cleaver and find other things to keep my now teenage daughter occupied. So we started going to concerts with her friends. It took a lot of the ease off of asking for a puppy. Being a teenager changed a lot of things and I did not mind. In 2016 my daughter graduated high school and went to college. While in school the stress from her being away from home and having so much to adjust to give her a bit of anxiety and I didn't know what to do. That’s when I brought Morty her puppy home. Morty was just 3 months old when I first saw her. It was love at first sight. I loved her and knew my daughter would also. I felt my daughter was ready now also responsible. I didn’t have to do all the work being she was older. She cried the day I surprised her and fell in love just like I thought. She’d come home every weekend from school to see her best friend Morty. I then regretted not having brought the puppy sooner. The way they love one another is incredible. Morty has brought so much joy and love to not only my daughter and me but to the entire family and neighborhood. You can’t walk down the street without someone asking about Morty or complimenting her for being so cute. She became more of a support dog for my daughter more like the sibling she never had. They are inseparable and I couldn’t be more thankful. Morty is more than just a puppy she’s my daughter's best friend. On a daily basis, I thank God for Morty. Last week January 20th Morty turned 5.
By Shannon Gattison4 years ago in Families
The Last Day In The Bronx
I’m Listening.. It was March 23rd 2019 when we heard the emergency horn blare through the cold winter air. There was already snow on the ground from weeks before. Storms brewed across the world, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and fires.The catastrophic events caused real destruction to the planet. Not only did we have storms causing havoc, we had Covid-19, a disease spreading across the world killing people by the thousands. Things were bad for almost two years. We weren’t sure if there’d be any people left on Earth. We were all told to go underground for our own safety. A lot of us chose Yankee Stadium because it had an underground shelter that could hold thousands of people. It was fully stocked with food, water, clothing, wifi etc. But that didn’t last. Manhattan began to sink from all the water. We’d been underground in the stadium, safe for almost two years and would've stayed if we weren’t forced out by the Earth. Once Manhattan began sinking, the governor became alarmed because it’s close to the stadium and feared we’d all die there so we had to come up. When we came up we didn’t know where we were. The destruction from all the storms hitting the city at once caused some kind of shift, and the land in the US moved around. We went down under Yankee Stadium in the Bronx but we came out under Barclays Stadium in Brooklyn, having never left the bronx. Everyone began to freak out and so did I. The subway system was gone. There were no traces of it as if it never was. There were no street lights, no tall buildings, no more bright city. Just piles and piles of dust.
By Shannon Gattison5 years ago in Fiction
