Sunday, May 31, 2009

paddles


paddles, originally uploaded by ujima.

flower ceremony


flower ceremony, originally uploaded by ujima.

We sang a song and had a moment of silence for those relative and friends who had died from breast cancer. Then we went down the ramp to the riverbank and released the flowers into the river.
I though of my aunt, Hazel Holmes, who died from breast cancer.


IMAG0163, originally uploaded by ujima.

walk down


walk down, originally uploaded by ujima.

to river to release flower

flowers floating


flowers floating, originally uploaded by ujima.

food tents


food tents, originally uploaded by ujima.

cake


cake, originally uploaded by ujima.

food


food, originally uploaded by ujima.

Sis&Mom


Sis&Mom, originally uploaded by ujima.

ta-tas


ta-tas, originally uploaded by ujima.

Her daughter made this shirt for her.


IMAG0169, originally uploaded by ujima.

paddlers


IMAG0170, originally uploaded by ujima.

You could get in a boat and paddle up the river and back. I passed.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Memorial Day


Memorial Day, originally uploaded by ujima.

Until I was 31 yo, Memorial Day was May 30th. We would drive up to Parkesburg, PA where my aunt & uncle had a home on an acre of land. Everyone would be there every year--aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends.

My uncles and others would tell tales of their WW II adventures in Europe and the Pacific. We'd play croquet, eat lots of great food and talk and visit.

I was pleased to see that President Obama sent a wreath on the lastMondayinMay Memorial Day to honor the African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War. They weren't, of course, buried in Arlington Cementary like the Confederate soldiers were.
./ ./ America! America! ././

Thursday, May 28, 2009

pic machine


pic machine, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 28 On this date in 1830, U. S. legislation leading to the “Trail of Tears” was enacted.President Andrew Jackson signed a bill that forced the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminole Indian tribes off their land in the southeastern United States. It is estimated that one-third of the members of these tribes involved in this removal and the ensuing trek to Oklahoma were of African descent.
As an adjunct to this policy, the state of Georgia pressured the government to enforce a similar 1802 agreement as compensation for their cession of western territory of the United States. The U.S. Army reported at the time 512 Blacks lived in the Choctaw Nation.

Just out walking, doing errands. Making some pics from the SD card by using this machine in Rite Aid.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Top of Hill


Top of Hill, originally uploaded by ujima.

5.27 Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1837 on this date, the oldest institution of higher education founded for African-American students. It is one the more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=208

When I went there, it was Cheyney State Teachers College. It was a lifesaver for me and many who might not have been able to afford a college education otherwise.

The weatherpersons again said it would be cold and rainy yakyakyak. Of course it was warm and sunny. They should put all TV weatherpeople on commission. They don't get it right, they don't get paid. They'd starve.
Lovely walk in Chestnut Hill: buying fish and breads at the market, drinking a cold coffee and reading in the Chestnut Hill Coffeeshop.


topofhill2, originally uploaded by ujima.

fishbest


fishbest, originally uploaded by ujima.

got salmon & talapia

metrobreads


metrobreads, originally uploaded by ujima.

@ Metropolitan Bakery

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

3purplebloomers


3purplebloomers, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 26 The birth of Lucy Ann Delaney, an African-American writer, in 1828 is celebrated on this date. Her desire to inspire her people to make the most of freedom was behind her decision to put into print her dramatic life story, which was published around 1891: From Darkness Cometh the Light; or, Struggles for Freedom. Read about her struggles @www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=2476

When I took a picture of these blossoms a few days ago, they were so beautiful. I passed them today while walking to the chiropractor thru the wind and rain. All of the blossoms had fallen off/blown away.
Laugh a lot. Run around and scream. Be kind to family and friends. Sing aloud.Act the fool. Eat sugary things. Enjoy life. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may or whatever that saying is.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Swine Flu BBQ 8>D


Swine Flu BBQ 8>D, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 24 The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was founded on this date in 1916, the first movie company controlled by Black filmmakers. www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1830

The pool is open for the summer. I went down on Saturday afternoon and stayed all day. Sitting outside talking and having beers. People in that frigid water, jumping off the diving board, playing beer pong, playing rounders.
Had some pulled pork, first pork I've eaten since the same affair last year. They often name the parties with rhymng names and some funny guy called this one Swine Flu BBQ.


Uncle Joe&pig, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 23 On this date in 1921, "Shuffle Along" became the first African-American Broadway Musical. The show was an all- Black musical comedy by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. "Shuffle Along" gave us such hit songs as: "Shuffle Along," "I’m Just Wild About Harry," "Gypsy Blues," and "Love Will Find A Way."www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1010

Uncle Joe was up from Florida and was being helpful serving the food as usual.

me&pig


me&pig, originally uploaded by ujima.

Walking in the neighborhood before going to the pool, I got a lot of disapproving grunts, tsks and mean faces from the old white men & women I passed when they noticed my tee. The kids at the pool loved it though.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

eebianca


eebianca, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 22 Marguerite Ross Barnett was born on this date in 1942. She was an African-American political scientist, administrator, and university president. In 1990, Dr. Barnett assumed the role of President at the University of Houston, becoming the first woman, as well as the first African-American, to hold the office.Read about her accomplishments @www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1912

Lying low and resting. Watching an EastEnders tape for four hours.Going out later for beers and live music. Where? I don't care.Wherever they go, I'm there!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Trolley Car Diner


trolley car diner, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 21 Fats Waller, an African-American composer, singer, and entertainer, was born on this date in 1904. Thomas Wright ("Fats") Waller grew up in Harlem. He took up the piano at age six, playing in a school orchestra led by Edgar Sampson. Waller made his first record at age 18, "Birmingham Blues"/Muscle Shoals Blues" in 1922.He backed various blues singers and worked ashouse pianist and organist at rent parties and in movie theatres and clubs. He began to attract attention as a composer.He began the long-running, prolific series of records with his Rhythm, which won him great fame and produced several hits, including "Your Feet's Too Big," "The Joint Is Jumpin'," and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." Read more of his Broadway and other accomplishments @ www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1425

I remember as a child listening to Waller's music which my parents played often. Loved singing "Your Feet's Too Big" and pointing at my sisters.
Beautiful 82Âş day. Still tired from sitting forever in the hospital waiting room yesterday but boarded the bus to Roxborough anyway and had my hair done @ Exhale Beauty Salon.
The photo was taken yesterday in the Trolley Car Diner where we went to eat after leaving the hospital.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009


false alarm, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 20 This date in 1787 recalls the Rankin House, a pivotal point of shelter for many Black slaves escaping bondage before emancipation.Rankin house was one of the most important entry points on the Underground Railroad. High on a bluff above the Ohio River, the beacon from there lit the night and the darkness of slave state Kentucky across the river.

Sat in the waiting room @ Chestnut Hill Hospital while they gave Mom an MRI and an exray. She said a loud exploding noise in her head woke her this morning! She had fallen2 days ago and had a bruise and pain on her side. After 4 1/2 hours, they released her saying she was OK.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Lilies of the table


3mom.lillies, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 18 On this date we celebrate the Federal Writers Project (FWP). FWP was an extension of the New Deal’s Works Project Administration (WPA) that gave employment between 1935 and 1939 to about 4,500 American writers, 106 of these were African-Americans.
The American Guide Series, a collection of state guidebooks describing the distinctive folkways and histories of the rural and urban regions of the United States dictated most of the employment of the writers. Many prominent Black writers took part in the FWP. The Illinois project hired Margaret Walker, Richard Wright, Willard Motley, Frank Yerby, William Attaway, Fenton Johnson, Arna Bontemps, and Katherine Dunham.
The New York project hired Wright, Claude McKay, Ralph Ellison, Tom Poston, Charles Cunberbatch, Henry Lee Moon, Roi Ottley, Helen Boardman, Ellen Tarry,
and Waring Cuney. Zora Neale Hurston briefly directed the Florida project.

So many of my favorite writers!!!
The flowers were sent by Sis,BIL and The Nephew from Baltimore on Mother's Day. New flowers open almost daily. You can see a picture of Mom behind the flowers. Below picture, you can see the family when we went to Baltimore to see The Nephew get his degree.

At the chiropractor's today, there was an animal chiro there working on the office dog (who had a stroke 2 yrs ago). There is always something interesting happening @ Dr. Lenny's office!

sushi 2b


sushi2b, originally uploaded by ujima.

8>D in the lobby of the Korean Restaurant where we ate on Sunday

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sunday Funday


Sunday Funday, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 17 On this date in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; ordering that all slaves in rebel territory be freed.
Hey, Abe what about the rest of us held in slavery Not in rebel territory. Emancipator? Yes. The great Emancipator? NOT!!

Hanging with The Nephew until he went to NJ for a bowling tourney. Later he, Sis & I went to the Clubhouse for some beers and cheesesteaks. I like having him here.


that shirt, originally uploaded by ujima.


that shirt2, originally uploaded by ujima.

Magical Mystery Tour


Magical Mystery Tour, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 16 On this date in 1950, Briggs v. Elliott, a civil rights case that assisted the groundwork for Brown v. the Board of Education 4 years later, was filed. With the help of the NAACP, they sought to secure better schools, equal to those provided for white children. www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=2138

Fabulous time even though so many things kept going wrongly. Mom, Nephew Mike (visiting from Baltimore) and I set out to see the matinee of "Movin Up". The traffic on the Expressway was jammed all the way to town. We arrived at the Kimmel Center 15 minutes late. But the play was at the Academy of Music!! It was difficult and then painful for Mom to walk the block to the new venue and climb the stars. But we were admitted and sat in last row so Mom wouldn't have to walk to the seats we'd paid for. But the view was excellent and so was the performance.
After the play was over, we ravenously walked to the restaurant to eat; but it was CLOSED as were the others on the street. It was too early for dinner.
So we drove to Miss Tootsie's on South Street. There were no tables! The place was crowded with a family graduation party.
Driving home was no problem as the Expressway wasn't crowded.
Mike thought of having a meal at the Korean restaurant on Ridge Pike. It was opened for business and we have endless plates of sushi, tempura,sashimi, chicken. lots of veg, miso soup.So fresh and delicious.
Any other group would have freaked out at the set backs. But the three of us are chill and kept going forward and had a great day.
At home we watched Seal singing 60s music on PBS and then the Jamacian film "Rockers" (1977). So much good music. Such a great day!

Friday, May 15, 2009

5.15


5.15, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 15 Mary Fields was born a slave on this date in 1832. She was a Black entrepreneur and stagecoach driver. Fields was a black gun-totin' female in the American Wild West who was six feet tall, heavy, tough, short-tempered, two-fisted, powerful, and she carried a pair of six-shooters and an eight or ten-gauge shotgun. In 1895, she found a job that suited her, as a U.S. mail coach driver for the Cascade County region of central Montana. She and her mule, Moses, never missed a day, and it was in this aptitude that she became a legend in her own time known as Stagecoach Mary for her unfailing reliability.
www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1604

Awoke to the sight of another beautiful amaryllis. Just maxin' and relaxin' today. Company coming tomorrow.

Phillies 5.14


Phillies 5.14, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 14 On this date in 1970, two Black students at Jackson State University were killed and many others injured by Jackson police. These killings were never as publicized as the Kent State shootings of four white students that had occurred only a few days earlier. It was a time of turmoil in campus communities across the country that were characterized by protests and demonstrations.www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1660

took me out to the ballgame
Sis & I in the crowd
bought me a pretzel and a bottle of water
cost me eight dollars and a quarter!
root root rooted for the Phillies
they didn't win
what a shame
tied it up in the ninth
lost in the tenth
at the old ballgame

Carlton statue


carltonstatue, originally uploaded by ujima.

us


us, originally uploaded by ujima.

fingerboy


fingerboy, originally uploaded by ujima.

ball girl


ball girl, originally uploaded by ujima.

She only had to get up once to chase a ball. Wouldn't want to sit on that tiny chair for nine innings.

cotton candy


cottoncandy, originally uploaded by ujima.

I like the vendors' yellow shirts and championship logos.

sea of red


sea of red, originally uploaded by ujima.


tieditup, originally uploaded by ujima.

We all stood and cheered when they tied the game in the 9th inning.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Lighten up


Lighten up, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 13 Sharon Sayles-Belton the first black and woman mayor of Minneapolis was born on this date in 1951. Sayles-Belton’s political career began in 1983 when she was elected to the Minneapolis City Council, serving in that capacity for ten years, and as council president from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, she was elected mayor of Minneapolis for two terms.

Gathering and washing red&white items to wear to tomorrow's Phillies' game. Glad it's a day game like we always had when I was a kid.
I remember the neighborhood fathers taking turns walking the kids to Shibe Park to watch the games on Saturdays. We'd each carry our brown bag lunches, sit in the bleachers and cheer like mad. Good times . Good memories.Let's go Phils!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Afternoon of errands


Afternoon of errands, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 12 On this date in 1862, Black slaves commandeered the Confederate ship “the Planter.”Generally, any enemy ship taken in this way is treated as an honor for the men who performed the brave accomplishment.Since the Blacks had been slaves, the nation's government in the capital, said they were merely contraband. It took a special act of Congress to award the ship as a reward and it was valued at only $9,168 dollars or one-third its true value.http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1817

Lots of small errands to do: Kohl's, Staples, Acme, Rite Aid, library, Bank of America.Such beautiful sunshine. Lite breeze. Talking with this one & that one. Everyone feeling happy. No complainers.
Walked over to McDees with David and had a capp and listened to his fears about cutbacks on his job. I promised to send the mayor an email complaint.

end of tasks


end of tasks, originally uploaded by ujima.

Stopped by club to tell Amy about Channel 3 weatherman's BBQ in Your Backyard effort. Maybe we can get ourselves on TV. Errands finished, I struggled home. Tired m'self out. (I was holding Lauren's drink so she could take my piccy.)

Monday, May 11, 2009

roadside flowers


roadside flowers, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 11 On this date we mark the birth of Thomas Chester in 1834, in Harrisburg, PA. He was an African-American lawyer and editor. After the American Emancipation Proclamation, Chester assisted in recruiting Black troops in his home state and traveled abroad, giving pro-union speeches and raising money for the Freedmen’s Bureau. It was during this time that he studied law and was admitted to the bar. Read more of his story @http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=660

Walking home from the chiro, picking weeds growing along the sides of the road to bring home.

anklewrap


anklewrap, originally uploaded by ujima.

Lots of adjustment and then wrap at the chiropractor's today.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day 2009


Mother's Day 2009, originally uploaded by ujima.

5.10 On this date in 1775, Black patriots helped capture Fort Ticonderoga.Blacks participated in one of the first aggressive actions of American forces in the prelude to the Revolutionary War.Ethan Allen, the Green Mountain Boys, and numerous Black patriots captured Fort Ticonderoga. This incident took the British in New York by surprise and defeated them.

Sis came by to pick us up. We went to Coyle's Café for a pleasant dinner.

Wake me up before you go go


Wake me up before you go go, originally uploaded by ujima.

I asked where her stop was and awakened her right before we reached it,

Saturday, May 09, 2009

looking for mdaycard


looking for mdaycard, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 9 The construction of the Pico House in 1870 is celebrated on this date. This was one of the many municipalities built and maintained by Blacks as southern California emerged as a state (founded in 1850).http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=183

Everyone looking for a card for Mother's Day. They forget that every day is mother's day. I don't get her presents or cards any more since my oldest sister died. I give a contribution to Women In Need or some other charity that helps needy women. The charity sends her a card made by a child. This year it was a tin painted by a child and there were a few chocolate pieces inside.

mdaycardline


mdaycardline, originally uploaded by ujima.

There were 37 people in line. I tried to take a picture, but they growled at me so I exited the store.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Friday lunchtime in the city


singer&combo, originally uploaded by ujima.

May 8 The Black Archives of Mid- America (BAMA), Inc. was founded on this date in 1974. BAMA is a Kansas City African-American history resource center that focuses on America’s Midwest. The BAMA was expressly created to collect and preserve the history of African Americans in the Midwest. Beyond their original emphasis of research and critical examination, the Archives' traveling exhibits shows the roles of African Americans and their efforts to dispel negative images.

In town early to buy tickets for "Movin' Out". Walked for 7 blocks enjoying the sunshine and the city's busy rhythms. in Reading Terminal Market having a small salad and an iced cappuccino and enjoying the live music and the lunchtime crowd.