My family's fall from grace spanned 24 years and 3000 miles
We left New York in 1975 for Texas, "top 10 public schools", mom said
My mom left behind her business and valued social circles
My dad left behind a city he loved, but he could always wander
But my mom made the decision for my future, so there's a conundrum
The Big Apple, it seems, had become rotten at its core, eating itself from the inside
So we moved to Dallas, "Dallas Tuccus", as my dad liked to say
Settling in for 14 years, the slow rot of New York followed close behind
In the following two lines, I'll sum up the entirety of those 14 years
Dad got scared of complacency and ran, mom's business went belly up
I grew up hateful of dad and the world, mom and I want death, dad comes back, we move
Of course there are huge gaps in that summation, but it's still complete
Despite the slow rot in my family, I loved Dallas, and still consider it to be home
I do want to focus a bit on the surreal nature of Dallas, though
Mom and I lived smack dab in the middle of one of the richest neighborhoods in North America
Yet there was a particular low point where she was clipping double coupons so we could eat canned food
Little by little, family friends disappeared in perfect harmony with the money
Behind the manicured lawns and serene backdrop, my mom struggled for our survival
And did it in such a way that I didn't even know that it was going on most of the time
By the time my dad finally reemerged from the cold ashes of obscurity, I hated him
I have never since experienced a hate that immense in my life
We were on the verge of killing each other when disaster struck
24 hours of intense physical activity later, we were packed and moving to L.A.
If you really want to know what it felt like to uproot and disappear like that
Watch the movie, "The Slums of Beverly Hills". Dad still can't watch it, cuts too close to the bone
There were three distinct jumps from where we started at the top of Beachwood
To the Ghetto of 3rd and Normandie, where we reside now
But, those were just the last tripping steps of a starving man before falling one last time
The more desperate we got, the tighter we got
The more desolate we got, the tighter we got
The more everything else faded away, the tighter we got

We lost everything in our long and hard fall from economic grace
But we gained each other as a family, it just took 24 years, and 3000 miles
In the end, I'd say the trip was worth it :)

-Master Dingo