Lakita Garth - The Naked Truth

2007 Lakita Garth

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Revell edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-2512-2

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2012

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Other version used is: NKJVScripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No one from the old neighborhood I was born in ever thought Id be a model or Miss Black California. They never thought Id be featured on television shows or major magazines, including Vogue, Essence, People and Glamour. They never thought Id hang out with stars or senators or ambassadors or heads of statelet alone become the founder and CEO of my own company. You see, thats not what people in my neighborhood expected out of life. I was born in one of Money magazines most dangerous places to live and worst places to raise children in America. But at the time, I didnt know any different. I just knew it as home.

My mom became a single parent after my dad died of cancer. (So yes, I know who my daddy is, thank you very much.) She was left with the responsibility of raising my four older brothersKevin, David, Leon and Markand me. We didnt grow up with a lot of material things. We were often the last kids to get anything cool. I remember when Members Only jackets were the in thingI think I was one of the very last Members. If I wanted a swish on the side of my tennis shoes, I had to draw it on with a Sharpie marker. You know youre poor when your shoes dont come in a box, but instead come with the shoestrings tied together in a grocery store bin. We really didnt care. We were just grateful to get new shoes.

As far as fashion, we let our pants hang low long before it was ever popular in the hip-hop scene. We didnt do it because it looked cool. We purposely bought our pants too big as a matter of economics so that when we grew, our pants wouldnt flood and they would still fit. I remember that my brothers had these crazy growth spurts. One summer a couple of them grew four to six inches in just a few months. Lets just say its not cool for a brotha to wear capris.

Besides providing for us, my mom was also responsible for protecting us. If youve ever seen Diary of a Mad Black Woman or Madeas Family Reunion, then youll understand: Madea aint got nothing on my mom! Everybody on the block knew that she slept with two men every night: Smith and Wesson. Only thats no joke! She would shoot you if you broke into her house or touched one of her kids.

I remember one time when I came home from school, Mom was busy watering the lawn and the guys across the street were playing basketball. During a conversation with the guys, she told them, You know, boys, I keep a gun with me at all times and there are only two things Id ever kill you over. First, if you break into my house and the second is if you touch my daughter.

The boys didnt hesitate to answer, Yes, Mrs. Garth. Consequently, our house was the only house on the block that was never broken intoand you can bet that no one ever touched her daughter.

Together my mom and dad were a force to be reckoned with. Our house definitely had some rules, boundaries and guidelines. My dad had served in the Air Force for 27 years and fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He died of cancer when I was 11. They think it was from Agent Orange. While he was alive, he was a very strict disciplinarian. If Dad couldnt bounce a quarter off your bed, he would strip it down to the mattress, and he would keep doing this for as many times as it took for you to figure out how to make your bed. It didnt take long to learn.

Among my friends, we were often the butt of jokesnot because we didnt wear the latest stylesbut because Moms rules were so strict. One of my moms big rules was Be in the house when the streetlights come on. When those lights came on, we instantly transformed into the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team. Wed jump over hedges, fences, puddles, trashcans and animalswhatever it took to get home. We couldnt move faster than the speed of light, but we were close to the speed of sound, because we were in her sight and into her house before she finished her sentence.

In some neighborhoods, being outside when the street-lights come on means you might catch a cold, but in my neighborhood, it meant that you might catch a bullet. You could get involved in gang activity, drug activity and a lot of other unpleasant activities, so when my mother said be somewhere at a certain time, there were reasons why.

We might not have understood the reasons at the time, and sometimes we might not have gotten a reason even if we had asked. We were just expected to obey. Oh, for joy! Mom wasnt trying to cut in on our fun. She used to say, Im not trying to be mean. I just mean what I say. Mom gave us rules like Be in the house when the streetlights come on because she loved us, because she didnt want us to get hurt, and because she knew and wanted something better for us.

Even today, when I drive around certain neighborhoods that dont have streetlights, I cant help but wonder, How do you know when to come home?

Impressionable minds live up to the expectations placed on them.

Mom wasnt just concerned about us following the rules. She also had an eye on our futures. She cared what happened to us and she wasnt afraid to remind us of where we were headed. She made sure that the whole family was future-oriented. Where would we go after elementary school? Middle school. Where we would go after middle school? High school. And where would we go after high school? Out of Mommas house, because she couldnt wait to be an empty nester!

Mom had different expectations than other parents. She made sure we all had a plan for what to do after high school, whether it was college or the military. Mom taught us that impressionable minds live up to the expectations placed on them, and she knew that if she didnt raise us right the first time, then shed end up raising us the rest of her life. Meanwhile, we knew we didnt want to be thirty-somethings still living in our mommas basement. Thats why she made sure we earned good grades in school, and she sacrificed herself to make sure we did. Many times these days, you cant get a parent to show up at a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) meeting, but my mom was always there. She would take off from work to be at those meetings, whether or not they docked her pay. Once she was there, she didnt just make sure to meet every teachershe would ask them to assign us extra work!

We used to watch our mom get up while it was still dark to go to work. If we needed cleats or a dance lesson or anything to further our education or development, she would sacrifice so that we could have those things. She never had the latest clothes or flashy jewelry. While we were growing up, she never spent money on a makeup, nail or hair appointment. She viewed those as personal luxuries for herself that would come at our expense. Mom had one eye on the present and the other on our future.