Page 245 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

245 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

the rat and insect infestations, holes in the roof, pigeons flying in, or our need to call animal control on several
occasions. Even worse, we had to place buckets throughout the building during the rainy season. Despite these

conditions, we were determined to endure! Our determination became passion and our passion became sacrifice.

The relationship I built with my “Neighborhood Watch Team” truly paid off because they protected Tajiri very

well. For example, the Seminole County School Board (through one of their community-funded programs)

donated ten brand new, out-of-the-box computers to Tajiri. You do know my neighbors saw that delivery. I am
happy to report that not one computer was stolen, and no one tried to break into the building. This was nothing

“BUT GOD” – Hallelujah! Thank You, JESUS!!

Passion = Sacrifice

Tajiri moved up from the “Red Baron” (a name given to my Volkswagen Cabriolet by a Tajiri parent) to an eight-

passenger van. That was an amazing blessing because now we had a lot more room to carry a lot more students …

and props. However, the van presented a new challenge – having enough gas to transport students to presentations
and the money to pay tolls. On several occasions, I had to ask parents who were serving as chaperones to pay the

tolls. We laugh about that now, but it was embarrassing then! Thank God, once again, for Mr. Henry Nixon
because he put our finances “in the black,” which made it possible for us to have a credit card for our hotel and

travel expenses. He was also adamant about Tajiri receiving the proper fees for our performances, especially when

we performed for large national conventions, conferences, sororities, fraternities, and art festivals.

The van made it possible for us to partner with performing arts entities located in other counties. We formed

partnerships with the Orlando Opera Company and the Crealdé School of Art in Winter Park, Florida. These