[Photo credit: Monique Muro – A Novel Quest]

Below is part of a weekly series called What Does This Remind You Of? If you’re a blogger, learn how you can participate at the bottom of this post!

This is a picture I took while wondering the bowels of downtown Los Angeles about a year or two ago. I wanted to use it for this week’s prompt, because I forgot about it, and upon seeing it again, felt compelled to create a story behind it.

This picture initially reminds me of someone saying, why are you taking a picture of me?

But the guy behind the cash register reminds me of my dad. He used to have a really thick, dark mustache when he was younger. And he definitely loved his tequila. But maybe the older man in this picture reminds me of him too. The older man here reminds me of strong Mexican traditions. Maybe it’s a similar look my dad would have given, had he lived long enough for white hair.

I feel like this picture could have been taken in Mexico, at a liquor store that maybe a tourist stumbled upon. This is all speculation, of course, because I haven’t been to Mexico since I was 11 or 12. I feel like the older guy in this picture is looking at the picture taker like, what’s the matter with you, I’m just buying liquor. 

Sometimes I feel judged when I buy liquor. As though the people around me are quietly judging my mental state, based upon what I’m buying. This picture doesn’t make me feel that way though. It makes me feel like buying tequila is as natural as buying butter.

It also kind of reminds me of my grandpa. My whole family is Mexican, so this picture kind of touches my heart in a way I can’t explain. Sure, a large part of my family, or at least the ones I’ve been close with growing up, are pretty ‘white-washed’, but I feel like this picture reminds me of  a part of my heritage I never got to know. My grandpa died when I was about 17, and because my dad died just 3 years ago, I feel like I was never really old enough to appreciate my roots.

But this picture reminds me of them. It reminds me that the world I live in now is starkly different than the one my parents and grandparents grew up in. And in fact, theirs was a lot harder, and they got through it by making do with much less.

Here’s What You Do Now

1. Write a post with this week’s picture and what it reminds you of. Be sure to add photo credits, and add the button below to your post so your readers can get involved too!

2. Link to your blog post using the blue ‘ADD YOUR LINK’ button below. Let me know if you don’t see it… (Note: All irrelevant posts will be deleted).

3. Visit the person’s blog who posted before you in the link-up. Let them know what you thought of their post! This is a pretty crucial part of this project, because it gives us the opportunity to build a community. Please, please, please make sure to encourage one another in their writing endeavors!

Add Your Link! Press the ‘Add Link’ button.

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Monique Muro

Monique is an exceedingly happy human from LA. She runs the blog A Novel Quest, and writes. A lot.

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