James Kitts: Difference between revisions

Leaves received his name because his mother was anticipating him to be born in October when the leaves would be changing.  Said Leaves, "Maybe they were planning on naming me after the leaves that would be changing in September/October?  But I was [born] premature."  Leaves lived at the Zen Center in upstate New York until Frank left his mother in 1975.  Afterwards, Leaves traveled with his family to [[Yogaville]] where he spent the remainder of his early childhood.  Life on an ashram farm had an impact on him.  As an adult, Leaves (legally James Anthony Kitts) teaches courses on "New Religious Movements" at the University of Washington in Seattle.

In the 1980s when Yogaville moved, the Kitts family chose to remain in CT and relocate to Storrs Mansfield.  There, the family lived at an apartment in Warrenville and eventually a home on South Eagleville Rd.  Once out of the commune, Rivers and Leaves began to prepare for public schools.  According to Rivers, they taught each other to swear to fit in.  Rivers also said that they had the crap beaten out of them.  Upon entering public school, both Rivers and Leaves began to go by the last name of Kitts (their stepfather) rather than Cuomo.  According to [[Justin Fisher]] (a longtime friend of the boys), Rivers and Leaves' parents permitted them to go by new first names to help them fit in better.  Leaves chose to go by the name Jimmy Kitts.