Happy Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, where we scare off the evil spirits, pray for the saints one day and pray for the dearly departed souls the next day. After saying your prayers, did you remember to vote?
Next up is Veterans Day, a day to say “thank you” and honor all those who have served this country in the military. We hardly have time to catch our breath when it’s time to prepare for Thanksgiving, a very special holiday. And once it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas isn’t far behind, and then it’s New Year’s Day. The year went by fast!
Getting back to today, we recently said our last goodbyes to Uncle Frank Morton. Well into age 90, he decided he was tired and it was time to join his wife, Aunt Gwyneth, in heaven. Feeling that he’d eaten enough in his lifetime, he stopped eating. Wanting to speak to his loved ones one last time, he called each family member, summoning them to Florida. While time and finances kept us from traveling at a moments notice, we did call on the phone and he knew it was us.
Charles said that when elders know it’s time to pass on and call the family to gather around, it’s only a matter of time before they go. I replied, no way. Uncle Frank sounded good. He knew who we were, even on a three-way call.
Uncle Frank passed away three days later, just the way he wanted. More to come at the memorial.
The incredible Wycliffe Gordon and friends will perform at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Nov. 27, 7 p.m. It’s not too early to make plans to spend Thanksgiving at Dizzy’s and enjoy a four-course menu with entre wine pairing.
Costume designer Carolyn Meckha Cherry has her first client, Levern Williams. Williams, a phenomenal jazz vocalist, most recently performed at Symphony Space Theater (Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater), 95th and Broadway. Having made appearances at Cleopatra’s Needle, LaMama’s, Symphony Space and Jazz at the Crypt (Church of the Intercession), Levern’s repertoire features songs by jazz greats such as Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman and Lou Rawls. Check-out performances on YouTube: http://goo.gl/XZdtTz.
The establishment with the worst music has to be Chase Bank, 125th Street off Lenox Avenue. The establishment with the best music has to be Dental Implants of Harlem. Located at 470 Lenox Ave., the dentist’s office has everything playing from Marvin Gaye to John Legend, with the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” thrown in. Makes you forget all about the pain.
Those of you who are regular readers may remember I introduced you to David Adjaye OBE, a London-based architect, currently working on the design of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington. Adjaye was honored once again at the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation annual dinner, held in the newly refurbished Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. Also in attendance, along with his beautiful wife, Ashley, were Anne Ashmore-Hudson and Jim Hudson, Mabel Wilson, Mario Gooden, Alan Robinson and, of course, Thelma Golden, looking very fashionable in an orange-red dress with matching lipstick.
Tamron Hall, an NBC “Today” show anchor, was very comfortable chatting with guests over dinner at the Tradition Home magazine’s 25th anniversary celebration. I was really a Hall fan when she hosted “News Nation.” I still am. I just prefer her with her own show.
Her style of dress is fabulous, and when she interviews, she looks straight into the camera, no blinking. Godzilla would drop to his knees if Hall came to interview him, humbly answering any and every question she might pose. I actually use to follow her on Twitter. But Twitter is just too time-consuming, and I had to give it up. Also at the Traditional Home celebration was Frederick Anderson, president at Hanley Mellon.
Seventy-five years after the publication of “Gone With the Wind,” by Margaret Mitchell, the life story of Mammy has been released. Although Katie Scarlett O’Hara and the dashing Rhett Butler, whose love story plays out against the backdrop of the Civil War, Reconstruction and the dying of the Old South, were always the focus of the tale, Mammy was right there from the very beginning, straight through to the end. In fact, Mammy doesn’t die until the opening chapter of the “Gone With the Wind” sequel, “Scarlett.” Many of us have our own personal relationship with Mammy, and I don’t know how I feel about somebody else’s interpretation of Mammy’s heritage.
The book, “Ruth’s Journey,” by Donald McCaig, was released Oct. 14. In it, we learn that Mammy has a name, Ruth, and she was raised in Saint-Domingue, which later became Haiti. The reader is introduced to Mammy’s family, who were part of the slave rebellion against France. You have to read the book to learn all of the intricacies, as it is a real stretch to imagine Mammy’s transition from Ruth to Mammy. At what point does Mammy relinquish her Caribbean heritage and adopt the Southern traditions of a Black slave in the early 1800s?
Actress Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy in the film, “Gone With the Wind,” was the first African-American to win an Oscar.
I wish Mammy could have written her own story of who she was. What was her real name? Who was her family? Limited knowledge of Black history in America would have us believe Mammy was born to field slaves and, upon becoming highly favored, was allowed to come into the big house and obtain the coveted position of Mammy. Well, the 384-page book is available on Amazon and I am interested in hearing the interpretation, thoughts and comments of those who read it. Let me know what you think. Is this our Mammy or what?
Until next week … kisses.