Let's Go Thrifting! (José, Eleanor & Liz)

Picture, if you will, a thrift store. Rows upon rows of vintage clothes or slightly out of date fashion. Stacks of obscure or off beat books and computer games. Retro furniture tucked neatly in the back, flanked with framed pictures and Butterick clothing patterns. Muzak piping through as you root through overstocks and donations, knowing each item has its own story. And as you wait in line and check which colored tags correspond to which discounts, why not read a few stories about going thrifting:

José Dominguez

02.11.2021

Refleccion Vestido: A Dress Dissonance and a "Poor Man's Body"

After Maria’s death all her clothes packed in boxes ended as a present to our dear friend Dora who was, and still is, in tremendous economical distress. Among those garments there was one related to a petit family affair that I kept imprinted in my neurons.  
The mentioned dress was the one Maria used in Ponchos’ wedding back in 2009. In a previous trip of the couple to Juarez, Sasha asked us about the way we were going to dress for the celebration; Maria showed her a green dress that she believed was appropriate for the occasion and told her that I was going to use a black suit and the issue was settled. After Sasha returned to Philadelphia; days later Maria’s affluent friend gave her several very fine clothes. One of them fitted her body exactly as if it was made specifically for her. I told her that dress was better to be used at the wedding than the option previously pointed to Sasha; she agreed and I decided also to change for a light color since the formality will be in summer. At the wedding day we faced a disaster; the in laws were not so happy about our appearance; Maria’s color dress was very similar to Sasha’s mother dress; my suit was almost the same color as Myron’s. We noticed several not verbalized signs of discontent; providentially the day ended full of happy memories that diminished our wedding protocol transgression. the damage was done and satisfyingly it didn’t become a family tragedy.
Later, looking in the internet I found a rule that we violated: (speaking about groom’s parents) ” You should opt for a different color than the bridesmaid dresses and mother of the bride dress”. Years had passed after the wedding etiquette incident. Now, living in Poncho’s house I find myself in a new world of experiences oriented mostly by the here and now. Related to the way I dress I can say that I have learned to prioritize weather protection instead of good looking. The result was expending less in garments instead of making an investment on image pampering. In that venue almost all my clothes were Ponchos’, and successfully they are suited for the climate demands and to my body size. Joking with Poncho I told him that I have a poor man's body because everything suits me.
Fortunately, here, in the USA I have entered in a new world; now I have less money than ever but, at the same time, I have, as ever, a far diminished interest on money. That simplicity of life did not begin in Philadelphia. Just arriving to America in December 2012 Maria put me in touch with big stores of secondhand clothes. The Mexico I left behind, or, more properly, the Jose I left behind, was more embedded into class ideology, and I, as a beneficiary of the system, shared and cherished consciously or unconsciously some ideas that gave me advantage and comfort; one of those was about the use of pre-owned clothes; in some upper class mentality to buy not new clothes will be perceived as a decline in status since only poor people will do that. Here in US we found a culture more open and rationally oriented to recycle and to use resources properly; such way of thinking helped people, as me, that do not have enough money or do not want to spend it unwisely. As my brother Ramon said, I was born again, we ended spending much less money in clothes and at the same time did not accept social pressure to live a good life.
After three years of being legal residents we were invited to share our lives with Beatriz and Alex who happen to live in Houston. We moved to their apartment that was located in a large and fine building in League City, Texas. Just want to mention that the garbage service was very efficient and clean. Tenants had several large containers available were to put the waist. One morning I took my trash bag and went to the public container. My surprise was when I found a neat white long sleeve shirt hanging to the metal structure. It was covered with plastic and ready to be used. I interpreted that someone wanted to make me a present. I took the shirt and it fitted perfectly to my poor man's body…

Eleanor Kazdan

02.11.2021

Thrifting With My Daughter

Before my daughter learned to drive and we lived in the suburbs, she would ask me every weekend “Can we go thrift store shopping?” And we would go to the rounds of the thrift stores, and I had no interest at first, in every buying anything from a thrift store. But while I was waiting for her a couple of times I was like, “Well let me just look around.” And I found some fashion. And it could be stuff that had never been worn before, new stuff.

Liz Abrams

02.11.2021

Name Brands

I found that my children, they always wanted the name brands when they were younger to keep up with their other classmates and girlfriends. Until they got a job and I said I’m not gonna pay; at that time, $50 for sneaks was a lot of money. I said I’m not paying it. I said I’ll tell you what you can do, you can get your little jobs during the summer, save your money and then when school starts you can buy these expensive sneaks. And they said okay.
As soon as they accumulated their funds at the end of the summer I said “Let’s go and get the shoes.” “Oh no we don’t! We’re going to the thrift store; I’m not paying that kind of money.” As long as it was coming out of my pocket, it was okay. They got very economical when it came to their money and they learned about thrift stores, oh yes they did!

 

If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds you know have stories about shopping in thrift stores, then you or they can submit stories through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.

And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.

 

 

Curated by Caitlin Cieri

In the Meantime (Norman & Frances)

It's getting close to the 1st anniversary of the COVID lockdown in Philadelphia. Back when we first started, we couldn't imagine how could live without restaurants, movie theaters, vacations, or haircuts. And while many of us cheated in little or not-so-little ways, we also made do with the restrictions we had. We socialized on Zoom, watched livestreams and watch parties, color coordinated our masks, cleaned our houses, and baked a lot of bread. Whether we worked from home, worked in public, or didn't work at all, we lived through a world we never thought we could. Today's post looks back at older buds getting into the swing of things, during a period when lockdowns and social distancing shifted from an unbelievable nightmare to a ho-hum routine.

Norman Cain

06.18.2020

New Things

Finally, because of the benevolence of my Drexel Group, entitled the Writers Room, that I’ve been involved with for 6 years, they gave me a Chromebook. So that’s very good because now when I get to learning how to really use it I’ll be able to send material in and I’ll be able to get into where I can be seen during these sessions. Because I’ve been utilizing my phone and during the week I would have sometimes as many as 7 different sessions with all of the groups I belong to.
Of course, there’s the Best Day session and with my church there’s a Bible study and there’s also the church study. And then we have a meeting with my Writer’s Room from Drexel every Friday for about an hour and a half and we are given subjects that they want us to write on. Also, with Writer’s Room for the last 2 months they’ve had a monthly, about an hour and a half per week, on two different areas of writing. Four weeks of poetry and four weeks of literature.
Now I really appreciate what the Writer’s Room did for me because I was about ready to get a computer anyway because I had saved up some money. Not only did they give me the computer, but they walked through, via just Zoom, how to set it up and how to do certain kinds of things.
Now last Friday I actually went into the first Zoom meeting. It was 16 of us and that was the last meeting until September. They may have a few more meetings so we can stay together. I was really amazed because we had 16 folk there. When I finally got on and I saw myself I said, “Hey Norm you need that shave and haircut buddy.” It was very interesting and it’s new. It was a new thing with the technology. I was going to try to get on, so I could be seen today, but I got into conversation with a fellow and I was kind of late getting on. So that’s my story and I’m very happy about it, and I’m going to ask Caitlin to send me her email address or some kind of way that I could start sending stories in. So that’s my little story for today. Thank you.

Frances Bryce

06.11.2020

Tell It to the Judge

I was going to talk about when I first started quarantine in March the 20th and I thought it was only going to be for a week or so, and then when it went to month I said okay, I’ll do some chores around the house and I picked up some books to read that I had bought and never read. So this went on and on until I finally decided that I was going to be in the house for a while and there was no let up in sight, so I started to declutter and did the other things. And then finally, I’m not big on TV and I don’t have Netflix so one day I just happened to scroll around and I saw some judge kind of show. So the last time I saw it, it’s really an experience, so if you’ve never seen one you really should treat yourself. So one of the shows I’m going to tell about is this young woman had met a guy on one of these social media things and they were going to meet and apparently they both had an interest in cooking so they were going to a cooking class. So she said she got all dressed up and she had received the information that said dress casually. So she was going to meet this guy for the first time because all of their communication had been done on social media. So she showed up with a new dress and some suede shoes and they were heels. What she was suing for was during the cooking event, this guy was swirling his pan and some of the grease or whatever got on her shoes and she said they cost $700, so the judge wanted to know why would you wear those shoes and she said well they said comfortable and you know she wore those heels all the time so they were comfortable. So in the end of the program the judge said, “Well no one would expect you to wear suede shoes and heels,” and she kept contending that was comfortable for her and she had on some during trial. So the judge finally awarded her $250 because she felt like she was partly to blame for it, so the guy lost, and she wanted $700. My feeling was after the judge made the decision which I had no part in I said I wouldn’t have awarded her anything, because if someone showed up to a cooking class with suede shoes that cost $700, so she had no receipts to show she had even had it. So then I had watched another show with a similar kind of thing where people had borrowed money and then they said, “Oh, it was a gift”, so it was entertaining to me but I hate that I had to watch that most of the time. But that was uplifting in a way that I had never experienced it before.
I think it was the one that’s called ‘The Verdict’ and her last name is Hatchett I believe. My son and daughter, both grown up living in California and they love Judge Judy because she goes right to the courts. You know this judge, she listens and she comments. Judge Judy doesn’t listen to any of that. She wants to know what you did. Judge Judy when I’ve seen her- she can be quite insulting. She’ll say your elevator doesn’t go to the 13th floor- any kind of remark. And that’s what my son says he enjoys because she doesn’t go through. If you have a contract you have to show it to her. You can’t just come in and say, because she would never have rewarded that woman because she had no bills for the shoes and if you were not too smart to wear suede $700 shoes if she paid that much for it to a cooking class.
That’s how I got through some of the days.

If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds you know have stories about changing routines, then you or they can submit stories through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.

And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.

 

 

Curated by Caitlin Cieri

Introspection (Norman & Brenda)

There's been a lot of holidays in the past week. Lunar New Year, Galentine's Day, Valentine's Day President's Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday; all bundled within the shortest month of the year. And yet, as I watch the snow, now black with dirt and almost completely melted, I find myself thinking of the plans I made in the past few months or years; wondering how much they'll change in the future. The Best Day is just as much about introspection as it is about sharing stories. Today's stories feature older buds thinking about their lives and the struggles they face, and how it will inform their future.

Norman Cain

01.14.2021

Letter to Myself

You have at this point in your existence attained a state of peacefulness, something that has alluded you throughout the decades of your hectic journey across the corridors of life. For years your spirit was in the clutch of fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt. The trials and errors that you have encountered during your life’s journey have enabled you to understand the law of cause and effect. That law prompted you to armor yourself with a thick coat of perseverance. You began to attain goals that you had at one time felt unreachable.
You did not receive your PhD and become a professor at a Historical Black University or a professional basketball player or a renowned author. However, you did receive a bachelor’s degree in Education and became a teacher in the Philadelphia public school system. You played in high level basketball leagues.
In addition to having been published in newspapers and anthologies you were the author of a chapbook that was published by a publishing company.
You are particularly proud of your five children and 7 grandchildren. They have embraced scholarship, became model citizens, and have careers in their professions. You have learned to grow old gracefully but there are some societal problems that aggravate you. Systematic racism, police brutality, lack of affordable healthcare and climate change.
You like most African Americans have been experiencing segregation in places of employment, educational institutions, and housing. You have been for no apparent reason repeatedly stopped by the police. You have experienced policemen pulling their weapons on you on 5 occasions. The experiences you have had as a juvenile probation officer and parole agent allowed you to work closely with the police departments in various court systems. They in your opinion do not recognize the rights of brown and black people.
You cannot understand how America, with its wealth, research institutions and medical facilities have not been able to ensure that each American would have a form of health insurance. You also do not understand why America leads the world in Coronavirus deaths.
Having lived in Pennsylvania, the Pocono Mountains, the West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, rural South Carolina, and a block away from the ocean in Ocean City, Maryland you have learned to enjoy and respect the gifts from nature. It saddens you to see the areas where nature once thrived become infested with hastily built homes with gentrification mobs and shopping centers.
Likewise, you are concerned with the Nation’s fragile infrastructure. You cannot understand why those in power don’t understand that global warming, which is being perpetuated by their greed, will eventually lead to a world to uninterrupted famine, earthquakes, volcanoes, eruptions, floods etc.
There is much more that I would like to write to you about in this letter. I hope that the words contained within this letter will invoke memories and give food to your body as it continues on your life journey as an Elder. In closing I beseech you to continue to fight the good fight, give no quarters to those that do not respect humanity.

 

Brenda Scantlebury 

01.07.2021

I Still Give Thanks For Life

I’m just thanking God. This is a new decade to this century, praise God. And thank God that we are all able to participate and having our right and sober minds that we can all think and feel and act and move about and that’s a blessing within itself. Even though some people have different kinds of ailments, especially those of older years that may be experiencing some things, but nevertheless, I still give thanks for life. I’m grateful to be in the year 2021.
So I just thank all of you and that this year will be a much better year even because of the confusion and chaos and all kinds of things that’s going on that’s so reprehensible, and I say “Oh my god.” And this country being a country that’s been kind of the one that’s been the leader around all the globe there of nations because so many countries mimic and follow our country and things and the traditions that we have. But to see what happened, what’s been happening, not only yesterday, but what’s been happening over these years, much better is expected. People need to be able to have differences without having to argue and fight and go to an even lower degree in order to hurt or take somebody’s life, to prove or say that they’re right. We all have some things that we need to think about and try to do better in our actions. This nation, we need prayer. If we believe in God, we need to pray and ask God to help us so that we can come to an amicable, you know, decision. Things will get better. We need help. Everybody needs help.

 

If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds you know are feeling introspective, then you or they can submit stories through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.

 

And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.

 

 

Curated by Caitlin Cieri

The World's Fair (Denise, Ann, Eleanor & Frances)

Something magical happened on January 21st. Older bud Denise told a story about all the things she had done with her mother, including take her to the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. At the end of the story, several other older buds piped up that they had been to the '64 World's Fair as well. I'd never been to a single World's Fair in my life, but I'd stories about how massive and exciting they were. I asked those who had gone to bring their World's Fair stories to the next session. And I have them here for you all to enjoy:

Denise W

01.28.2021

Memories of the World’s Fair

1964 I was 9 years old and I had the pleasure of attending the New York World’s Fair. One of the exhibits I particularly enjoyed was “It’s a Small World.” Delightful songs played as puppets swirled around representing each country and the residents of that country. And then at the end the countries came together, all the children were together at the end, and they played again “It’s a Small World. “
I remember a Spiro, like a Unisphere, it was similar to when you go to Epcot, that huge globe. That was good. They had a panorama of New York City. Jet packs that represented the future of technology. I remember eating Belgium waffles with fruit for the first time and I really enjoyed that.
I realized that I did see Michelangelo’s Pietà in a bulletproof glass, they had the original sculpture flown in from Italy. I forgot I saw that and then had a scale model of what was the World Twin Towers. I remember this RCA color TV studio which when you walked by you could see yourself on TV. Which in those days was pretty exciting because you could see yourself in color.
General Motors had an exhibit that showed us highways on the moon, commuter spacecraft, an underwater hotel and something we use a lot today, covered moving walkways; I’m thinking particularly of airports. FaceTime, they showed, I thought about the Jetsons at the time, in which they showed that you could see the person that you’re speaking with while you’re speaking, so that was FaceTime now.
There were live animals in the African pavilion, and I remember the Sinclair oil exhibit, they had large replicas of dinosaurs. There was the State of New York pavilion in which they had 500 mosaic panels. We also saw Spanish art displayed by original Spanish artists, for example Pablo Picasso. And the last thing they showed a lot of IBM computer technology that we use today. So, it was a wonderful trip, one of the best I have ever taken in my life. Very enjoyable.

 

Ann von Dehsen

01.28.2021

The World's Fair '64

Since I grew up in a town less than an hour’s drive from the World’s Fair, I was very fortunate to go several times. Sometimes with my family, sometimes with friends and their families. Despite the huge modernistic corporate pavilions, the beautiful Unisphere and the impressive flags of all nations, the very first thing that came to my mind when we brought up this topic last week was Belgian waffles with strawberries the size of apples. This is because my favorite area was the World Pavilions, consisting of maybe 50 countries; I’m not sure. But each country featured their nation’s history, music, food, and dance, and many constructed little villages showcasing their famous sights and streets. So yes, you could actually walk down the boulevard and visit things like the mini Eiffel Tower or the Trevi Fountain. My favorite pavilion though was Belgium, where you could stroll down a quaint cobblestone street complete with shops and yes, Belgian waffle stands. It was there that I sampled the exquisite combo of three inch high waffles covered with huge strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar for the first time. Don’t think I’ve had waffles that good since. The Moroccan pavilion also comes to mind, but not so much for its food as the architecture, music, and belly dances. Of the corporate pavilions I mostly remember the GE Building and its long lines to get into the Carousel of Progress, featuring typical rooms from houses of the past and future. Not positive, but I think that very large microwaves were shown in the house of the future. I also think that flying cars were predicted. Very Jetsons like. The Kodak Building had a circular theater that you stood in while the fast-moving movie encircled you. I only remember the very dizzying scene of a hundred people closely riding their bikes in a very crowded street in China, and my claustrophobic mother saying, “Oh god, please, I have to get out of here!” Other vague memories include ‘It’s a Small World After All’ before it went to Disneyland, and an area of amusement park rides with a huge Ferris Wheel in which the wheel was made to look like a huge truck tire. I’m sure I saw many other amazing sights on our visits, but those are the ones that come to mind. My final memory was also my final visit to the World’s fair on the occasion of my 13th birthday and I was allowed to bring three friends. Better yet, the friends and I were allowed to roam freely, without having parents nearby. So, of course our first stop was the Belgian waffle stand, and after my friends sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me, the waitresses serenaded me with the Dutch version of the song. All in all, lots of good memories from the World’s Fair.

Eleanor Kazdan

01.28.2021

Going to the Fair

I remember my father talking excitedly about World Fairs when I was a young child. It sounded so exotic to be able to see exhibits from all over the world as well as fantasy cars and spaceships from the future.
In 1964 my parents announced that our family of 6 was driving to New York to attend the World’s Fair. I had been to New York a number of times to visit my mother’s aunts, uncles and cousins who lived in Flushing, which it turns out that was where the World Fair was. We attended shows at Radio City Music Hall, ate cream cheese sandwiches on raisin bread at Chock Full O’ Nuts and walked endlessly up and down Broadway.
In the early 60’s people still got dressed up to go out and the World’s Fair was no exception. My mother had taught herself how to sew and was quite an expert seamstress. For the occasion she sewed me a white wool coat lined with covered buttons and a matching A-Line skirt. I wore little heels and felt quite sophisticated and grown up.
The theme of that World’s Fair was Peace Through Understanding. There were exhibits profiling the cultures of 80 different countries. One big theme was the future, space travel and modern cars. One exhibit showed a model of the World Trade Center which was constructed several years later. The Ford Mustang was introduced and became a runaway best seller. RCA debuted a color television. We walked through this fantasy world for two days, exhausted and inspired.
In 1967 I had the opportunity to attend another World’s Fair, Expo 67, this time in Montreal. This was another city I was very familiar with. It was where my mother grew up, and my grandparents along with many other relatives lived there. Expo 67 coincided with my grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration. It also coincided with Canada’s centennial.
The rest of my family drove to Montreal without me since I had to finish my high school final exams. After completing my exams I took my very first flight from Toronto to Montreal to meet them.
My family took very few pictures, and in those days people generally didn’t, but especially my family. I can’t find a single picture of the ‘67 World’s Fair, but that of course I remember much more clearly because I was more on my own. I went with my cousin, and it wasn’t with my family. The Montreal World’s Fair was wildly popular. It is considered to be the most successful World’s Fair of the 20th century. The first Habitat for Humanity had been designed and built for it; and it was a very new concept. So many people attended the fair that we had to line up for hours to get into the pavilions. I remember a 3 hour wait for one. I think one of the most popular exhibits was the Russian Pavilion, which was all about space travel. And we thought, “Well that’s ridiculous. Waiting three or four hours to get into a pavilion?” But it was true, you had to wait three or four hours to get into the pavilion.
Expo 67 was a landmark event in Canadian history. Montreal’s major league baseball team was named the Expos after it.

 

Frances Bryce

01.28.2021

The World's Fair '64

I’ll start with my daughter who was very young, and when we told her we were going- she would be going to the fair, and it was quite different from a state fair. What’s going on here? Which had, she had seen before. We told her this was a fair that was called a World’s Fair; countries all over the world would be showing things from their country. People from those countries would be in abundance, and many she had not seen before except in books and magazines, but not just one or two people who looked different from those she saw in the U.S. Many, many people! Rides and things we would see. After many questions, the day finally arrived. We took the train, which was very exciting for her, on a trip out of town. I chose things that I thought would be very interesting to her, and many things in the pavilion displays that would be educational. Kodak Pavilion rooftop had a- you could see the view of the fair in all directions. It was probably the gift shops where I bought a Kodak camera that I still own. The gift shop was also where I got most of my photos when I traveled because I could travel from one part of the country to another with a camera and take no pictures and end up buying pictures and postcards of those kinds of stuff.
She got to ride on many things that were of interest to her, and then there was an audio of Abraham Lincoln that was just compelling for her to see. Pictures of future cities and transportation et cetera were just in abundance. We took the train back late in the evening. She slept most of the way back home. She had a great time telling me how much fun she was having; that made me equally happy. I had to really think about the fair and what I remembered, but I had some help from a friend who reminded me of things that I had moved to the recess of my mind. The New York fair reminded me of things my brain needed no prompting, such as viewing Michelangelo’s sculpture of the Pietà, (and we were on moving chairs as the Pietà show was showing) and also the King Tut museum was one of the things that I could recall about New York. And then, in London, the royal jewels which were just a wonder to see. The Pietà as you might know was Mary cradling her son Jesus; the artistry of was awe-inspiring, and the King Tut museum was the tomb, most of the thing, when he was in reign for a very short length of time. That reminded me more of New York and other places than the World Fair. 

If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds you know have stories from a World's Fair, then you or they can submit them through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.

 

And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.

 

Curated by Caitlin Cieri

Black History Month (Liz, Norman, Frances)

After the Black Lives Matter protests of June, and the storming of the Capitol by White supremacists, Black History Month is more important than ever. Every year there's another Black historian, artist, scientists or activist I only just learned about, like Lewis Howard Latimer creating the filament that made modern light bulbs so affordable in the first place. This year in particular, I want to share stories about Black older buds confronting racism and campaigning for a better future.

Liz Abrams

01.14.2021

Mental Health Protests

Remember when we discussed that, I remember in the 1990’s I was affiliated with a mental health consumer advocacy and I was an advocate for mental health consumers. And when I was with this agency, we decided that most of the colleagues, friends, and acquaintances were mental health consumers themselves, and we found that the services that were meted out to special people such as the consumers were not adequately covered by insurance companies or the state department as they covered services for people that had physical issues. So, we gathered ourselves- the social agencies, consumers, and advocates, and we protested. We marched- and this was the 90’s, 1990’s- we marched to the federal building were congressmen were seated. We protested there with the, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” And then we gathered our transportation to Harrisburg with the same protest to the state department, and then we moved on to Washington D.C. and we stormed congressmen’s offices, and eventually asked and demanded services for the mental health consumers. However, today, 2021, mental health consumers are still underserved and not all are homeless or poor or minorities. But, as of January 2021, middle America and your president is definitely underserved for mental health treatment as we witnessed when the United States Capitol was assaulted January 2021

 

 

Norman Cain

06.04.2020

Deep-Rooted Prejudice

When I was in the army in the Republic of Panama from ’65 to ’67, I was a military policeman. When I came back to Philadelphia, I spent three years working in a state-run reformatory. After that, I was a juvenile probation officer for a year. After that, I was a parole agent for a year. So, I’ve worked around law enforcement, both in and out of the courts, in and out of the roundhouse, in and out of the prisons, and you know for investigations and what not. So I have a great understanding about the mindset of law enforcement personnel. You have way too many that harbor deep-rooted prejudice, and I don’t care how many sensitivity sessions they go to, they still- maybe not most of them- too many of them harbor this prejudice. Now, I really and truly understand because in my lifetime, understanding the mindset of your law enforcement folk, in my lifetime I have had the police pull weapons on me five times. When you look through the barrel of those pistols you see your whole life before you. Twice in Philadelphia, once in New Jersey, and twice in Atlanta, Georgia. And I have no record at all, and each time those weapons were pulled on me I was in an isolated area. It was only through the grace of God that I’m here today, because there were no cellphones around. This is what the climate is and this is what is being projected from the top. We all know and have an idea the so-called President Trump is trying to divide the nation. When was it? It was Charlotte, Virginia when he said the Nazi people were good people, and then a couple of weeks ago, the near west when you have the white supremacist go into the State department brandishing guns and they’re good people. This is his mindset. Now, I’ve read somewhere and I truly believe that both his parents, this has been documented, were of the Ku Klux Klan. That is his mindset. I’ve had weapons pulled on me five times, a lot of other things have happened, so we are up against a wall. Because I really and truly don’t think that the law enforcement people are going to all of a sudden do the right thing, and I’m going to close with this. Several months ago, under the secret online location, over a hundred Philadelphia white policemen had a hatemonger type of dialogue going on about blacks with negativity to blacks. And then when they bombed Move, on Osage Avenue, nothing is said about that. Not only did they bomb Move, knowing that explosives was on the roof and I don’t think you can use the term alleged when the lone actor tried to come out and six kids had to go back into the house and perish because of the burning. And what about all of the houses that burned down? And no one was accountable for that and no one went to jail. We forgot about Move. When the looting, which was a horrible situation, but what about that looting? Thank you.

 

Frances Bryce

07.30.2020

Never “Mr.” or “Mrs."

Eleanor, that was interesting when you were saying that the guys never addressed you as a proper young woman. Always by your first name. That was interesting because I remember my mom talking about in the South, Black women who took care of these White kids and they called them by their first name, and when they grew up, the white kids grew up, they called them “aunty” or “uncle.” They were never “Mr.” or “Mrs.” And so there was a religious group that came around and came to the door my mom said, and they said you know “Miss” or “Mrs.” So she called somebody to say, “Come and hear somebody address us other than as ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle.’ You know, you play with these kids, and then you get old enough,” she said, “and then you’re supposed to call them “Miss” and “Mrs.” And then they call you “aunty” and “uncle.” Never “Mr” or “Mrs.” That was customary in the South.

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And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.

 

 

Curated by Caitlin Cieri

Delays

Hi everyone. I want to apologize for how long it's been since I wrote a new blog post. I've been catching up with a lot of different things and had to take time off from the blog. I should be back in the swing of things now.

Caitlin