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January 2002 Winners of Third Place for a 16 year old
A Happy Ending
By Takara Bunn
My Father, the
Hero
By Karina Colleti
January
2001 Winner of Third Place for a 14 year old
Against
the Odds
By Elizabeth Cooper
December 1999 Winner of
First Place for a 16 year old
"Grandpa's Life"
By Eddie Espinosa
December 1998 Third Place Winner age 17
"A Tough Life Growing
Up"
By Jeremy
December 1998-Winner of Third Place for
a 17 year old
"Remembering
My Beloved Aunt Ivy"
By Shirleen Allicock
December 1998- Winner of Third Place for
a 17 year old
"My Great Grandmother"
By Erica Duran
Third Place Winner for a 17 year old
"My Grandmother's
Childhood"
By Kavita Sookoo
December 1998 Third Place Winner for a
17 Year Old
"Grandma's Intriguing
Life"
By Andrea Waugh
December 1997-First Place Winner for a
!7 Year Old
"Grandma"
By Bianca Serrano
December 1998- Winner of Third Place for
a 17 year old
"My Great Grandmother"
By Erica Duran
December 1997 Second Place Winner for
a 14 year old
"Action With No Thinking"
By Arled Serrano
December 1997 Winner of Second Place for
a 17 year old
"My Uncle's Death"
By Pedro Cruz
December 1997 Winner for a 17 Year Old
"A Dedicated Father"
By Amanda Dwarka
December 1995 Winner of Second Place for
14 Year Olds
"Mother's Young Life"
By Hashim Watts
December 1994 Winner of First Place for
14 Year Olds
"Grandma's Story"
By Richard Coram
December 1999 Winner
of First Place for a 16 year old
"Grandpa's Life"
By Eddie Espinosa
Speaking to my grandfather was a hard thing to do.
He only speaks Spanish, so I had a few problems understanding him.
I got my dad involved. I asked my dad to translate and he agreed.
At first Grandpa really didn't want to do this, but since I'm so important
to him, he just kind of let it all out.
Most of my grandfather's life he lived in a small
house in Isabella, Puerto Rico. My grandfather's name is William,
but I just call him grandpa. Grandpa lived with his two brothers and his
parents.
Grandpa said, "My life was a nightmare." When he was about
eight years old, he lost his mother to whom he was so close. "My
mother was so superstitious that even on stormy days, she would go out
to see some people who studied witchcraft, and one day she caught a really
bad cold and became really ill, until she died." That tragedy affected
his life terribly. My Grandpa, his two brothers and his father suffered
for a long time, due to this great loss. He cried all day and all
night hoping for her to return.
"Going to school in pain and agony, I decided to drop
out," said Grandpa. He started working with his father, to take care
of his two younger brothers. Grandpa had to cook, clean, wash clothes
and basically take over his deceased mother's job. At this point
in his life things were really becoming hard. As Grandpa grew up and got
a little older, he realized that he had to deal with life as it came.
"Amongst my family, my two brothers my dad and I, we only
had one picture of mom and I had it," Grandpa said. One day my grandpa
and his brothers had agreed to give the picture to a friend, who promised
to blow it up and make it big. But Grandpa never got the picture
back again. Grandpa is still heartbroken 'till this day and forever
will be, because as he said, "She now only exists in my memory."
At the age of nineteen Grandpa's father died. He
died from loneliness and old age. This ruined what was left of his family.
His brothers started a life of their own. Life seemed as if it would never
get better for my grandpa until the year of 1957. He met a beautiful woman
named Juanita Santiago. Grandpa was about twenty years old at the time,
and she was about twenty-five years old. For the first time in his life
he had found happiness. They had five children. My mother was one of
them. They were together for forty years before she passed away, March
18, 1998. Grandpa moved to the United States for a better life and
tried to seek happiness one again. Living in Brooklyn and being close to
us was more than enough. He is currently living a happy life. He said,
"Although every time I seek happiness and find it, I seem to lose it, I
cannot thank God enough for allowing me to watch my children grow up; I
am still alive and in good health." I admire my grandpa for his courageous
ability to continue life, being strong and never giving up.
December 1998 Third
Place Winner age 17
"A Tough Life Growing Up"
By Jeremy
I had a lot of trouble getting someone to tell me
one of their stories. I had never even thought of asking my mother
because I thought maybe she didn't have anything to tell. It so happens
that my mom was the only one who I had a chance to interview. I thought
that I knew everything about my mother, but I found out that, in reality,
I did not know everything. I thought that my mom had lived a normal,
dull life, but she had many problems during her childhood days. Life
was a series of uphills and downhills.
I finally sat down with her in my room where
it was quiet and where we could talk openly. My mother's name is
Sumintra, but we call her Indra. She was born on the island of Trinidad,
which is an island in the Caribbean. The island itself is not very
large, but the population consists of many people. The climate is
very hot, and it also rains very much. The people who live there
plant sugar cane, and also do a little gardening. Indra lived in
Trinidad for about twenty-three years, then she came to the United States
because it was an opportunity for her to make more money and to take care
of her children more efficiently.
During her time in Trinidad, Indra had three
brothers, and she was the only daughter. Her brothers all lived separately
in different houses. She said, "I don't really think that I
was treated differently because I was the only daughter. It's
because my parents were old-fashioned people," she said. "Daughters
were supposed to stay at home and perform household duties such as, cooking,
washing, taking care of the cows, doing dishes, almost everything."
She started cooking at the age of eight.
Indra lived with her father and her step-mother.
When Indra was 9 days old, her mother had a stroke from high blood pressure.
Her father then found another woman, and made Indra's mother leave the
house. Her new step-mother was mean to her. She used to sit all day
and have Indra do all the work. Her step-mother never wanted to do
anything. One time when one of Indra's brother came to stay with
her for a while, her step-mother gave them food in one dish to eat, because
she did not want to give them much food. She used to make both of
them bathe by a public standpipe. Indra could have only cooked a
few things at that time. If she did not cook it well her step-mother
would box her ears.
When she was 12 years old, she fell in love
with a man. During that time parents did not want their kids to go
anywhere, only to stay at home, never to walk down the street, and never
talk to boys. Her father did not want her to marry him because he
was black in color, but of the same ethnicity. Her father thought
that he was too black for her because they themselves were a little white.
She had to run away with him, and so she left school at the age of 13.
When asked if she felt deprived of an education, she replied, "I do feel
a little deprived because, now, when I think about it, I think that I should
have listened to my parents and stayed in school and taken my education."
When Indra left her father's house, she went
to the man's father's home. He accepted her into his home and considered
her like his own daughter. "He was a very wonderful father-in-law,
and a wonderful inspiration to me," said Indra. He made her feel
welcome in his home. He never took her for granted, and she was very
much loved by him. She had 2 kids, both boys, but the relationship
that she had with her husband was not a perfect one. The relationship
lasted for four years during which she found out that her husband was very
lazy. He used to smoke and hang out with his friends and return home
whenever he liked. She then took the two kids and left the house
and her husband and went to live with some of her relatives for a while.
After that she started to work, and she started making a new life on her
own as a single parent. Looking back now at her childhood days, she
thinks that there are some things that she would have changed, but everything
worked out just fine, and she's very thankful for that.
December 1998-Winner
of Third Place for a 17 year old
"Remembering My Beloved Aunt Ivy"
By Shirleen Allicock
A long, long time ago, during the early 1900's,
was when my great-grandparents were young and in love. In order for
them to be together always, my grandfather took my greatgrandmother with
him on a ship, where he worked on as an engineer. Her first two children
were born in America. Her third was born in Panama. Her fourth
was born in the Barbados and her last, my grandma was born in Guyana.
I interviewed my mother about my great
grandmother's third child, Ivy Todd, who is my father's aunt.
Ivy came to live with us just before she was sent to a nursing
home. She was very ill and had nowhere else to go. She was
a very old lady, who didn't like to be around people very much. She
didn't like children. She didn't have any of her own. The only
person she would talk to was my mother. She told her things no one
else knew. "She told me a lot about her past," my mother recalls.
Ivy wished she could have known her parents
and her brothers and sisters. She was raised by her god-mother.
"Your great-grandmother would have her children at different port of calls.
Can you believe it?" my mother said. My great grandmother was not
capable of taking care of her children on the ship.
Ivy was American Indian and English, but since
she was born in Panama, she grew up as an Hispanic. She was sent
to a convent in Jamaica at the age of nine. She worked as a school
teacher in Haiti and in Panama. Ivy was extremley obsessed with keeping
her youth. In the early 1940's, right before she came
to the U.S., she destroyed all important documents stating her date of
birth and replaced them with a later year. " Ivy's date of birth
was a real mystery until the day she died," Mom recalls. "The ironic thing
about it was that her younger sister by more than ten years, was born the
same year that Ivy chose as her new birth year."
My grandma was born January 24, 1915, and
my Aunt Ivy used February 7, 1915 , probably because she didn't know her
younger sister. "I wanted to die laughing when I discovered this,"
Mom said.
Ivy was a very well-educated, strong and beautiful woman. She
spoke several different languages fluently such as French, English, and
Spanish.
She also mentioned someone she considered
the love of her life named Primo. She wanted to marry him, but she
never did, for he died in W.W.II. After that tragedy, Ivy never loved
another. "She got paranoid everytime I asked her more about him.
I could tell it got her very emotional," Mom recalled.
Mom knew that Ivy was dying. She would
tell my mother, "I'm gonna take you with me." Mom always took that the
wrong way. "I got scared everytime she said that. I thought
she meant she wanted me to die with her. I didn't know she meant
when she moved she wanted me to move with her because I took care of her
so well," Mom said.
On the day right before she died, she made
sure she told my mother exactly how she felt about her. "Before she
died she kissed my hand and said she loved me," she recalled. My
mother was very kind to Ivy and respected her. No one else paid attention
to her in my family. They just thought she was a grouchy and senile
old lady. Boy, were they wrong!
Out of all my father's ten brothers and sisters,
no one knew Ivy like my mom did, not even my father. They had a bond
that could not be broken.
We will always cherish her memory. She
died July 1996.
December 1998- Winner
of Third Place for a 17 year old
"My Great Grandmother"
By Erica Duran
My great grandmother's name is Rosadelia.
She is known by every one in her town and other places as an heroic, fascinating,
admirable, strong, beautiful, smart, helpful woman. Everyone that
knows her loves her for who she is and what she has done.
Rosadelia's parent were very poor; they had
to work very hard to support their six kids. Jose Maria's Infant
was my great grandma's father who worked planting, taking care of land,
and working with tobacco. Junta Sepin was her mother; she worked
too. She used to go to people's houses and wash and iron their clothing.
She sold Spanish food called empanada and pastelitos. She also
used to do something very special and important, helping woman
deliver their babies.
They lived in a small town in the Dominican
Republic called Juanaca. here Jose Maria and Junta had their kids.
Their first two kids died. Their first daughter's name was Vivian, and
she died at the age of 7 and nine days later their second child, Cresenio,
died sick too. They were so poor that the same flowers that they used in
Vivian funeral they used for Cresenio. Every time my great grandmother
says that she gets sad.
My great grandmother's parents were very sad
about the death of their two kids, but God sent them, a year later, in
1893, a very dark beautiful, lovely little girl who is Rosadelia.
Rosadelia had to work with her mother to help her out along with her other
sister. Since she was the oldest she had to do more then her other
little sisters. After the death of their first children, Junta and
Jose Maria had six more healthy kids, and Rosadelia was the middle one
and the oldest of the girls. Because they were poor, Rosadelia never
went to school; she only worked and followed her mother around, and she
learned everything that her mother did to earn money. The only thing
that she did not do is help deliver babies. She already knew how,
so she just helped her mother out. The girls helped the mother, and
the boys helped their father.
At the age of 20 Rosadelia married her friend
since childhood, Jose Binicio Duran. A few months and a year later,
Rosadelia and her husband's family moved to another town in Dominican Republic
called Ranchos de Babocico. They had 11 kids who they loved and took
care of, just like Rosadelia and her husband's parent did. They had
their children one after the other, and unfortunately, four of them died,
butnot until their 50's and 60's.
When my great grandmother was in her early
thirties her mother died at the age of 62. Rosadeia was very sad
and felted emptiness inside, but she thought of her mother and other poor
mothers to be. She said to herself, "I'm going to follow my mother's
footsteps and help other women deliver their children." Soon after
her mother died she became pregnant. She washed, ironed people's
clothes, sold food and delivered babies for every woman that needed her
at any time. She also breast feed other woman's children. Everyone
called her Mama Prieta which stands for dark mama. What was
good about my Mama Prieta is that it didn't matter if she didn't felt well
or what time it was, she always went when someone called her to help deliver
a baby and never changed anything. What is amazing is that she had
ninety-seven grand children and she helped deliver more than half
of them.
My Mama Prieta raised all her kids besides her granddaughter,
who, luckily happens to be my lovely mother named Carmen Duran.
My mother has told me that she was very spoiled; she slept with my great
grandmother and great grandfather until the age of 18. My mother
talked about how she used to go to school with a piece of paper and piece
of pencil to school and it had to last for a whole month. My mother
told me that my great grandmother was overprotective; when she had a boyfriend,
Rosadelia sat in the middle with candle or lamp at night in her hands.
On Christmas, they were so poor that my mother got from them a doll made
of broom, vasoline for her hair, and candy. My mother said she didn't
care because she was rich with love from her grandparents, that those were
the good old days.
My great grandmother delivered children up
to the age of ninety years old not because she was sick or she was old.
But because she was going blind. But at the age of 92 she got an
operation and her vision is perfect again.
Jose Vinicio, her husband died before or around
the time of her operation and that was a great lost for her; but since
everyone loves her she had support from everyone. Even teens love
to be with that 90 year old. A few years ago my great grandmother
turned 100 years old with all her great great grandsons, grand daughtesr
and all her nephews. Other relatives came from different countries
to celebrate her birthday. I went and it was beautiful. She
looked like an angel; she had long white hair, nice dark skin, lovely gray
eyes. In my eyes she is the most beautiful elder woman in the world.
Mama Prieta , unfortunately, two years ago
lost her memory, but sometimes it comes back for five minutes or so.
Still she is as healthy as if she was 20. She could walk, she could see
and lift up some things. She doesn't like to stay still, so she is
always walking around the house looking at birds, flowers, children and
talking a lot.
My grandmother has 72 children left, 92 grand
children and 236 great grandchildren and every year more and more are born
and every year she is more beautiful even at the age of 105 or more.
When she was born is not exactly known. Her age is calculated
by the date that she was baptized, but since she was baptized late
because her parents were poor, she is said to be 110 years old. However,
it doesn't matter; she is still the woman, beside my mother that I most
admire.
Third Place Winner
for a 17 year old
"My Grandmother's Childhood"
By Kavita Sookoo
My grandmother, Mooniah, is 80 years old. I
visit her every summer in Trinidad. I correspond with her by
letters. Sometimes we have short conversations
by telephone. She is interesting and fun to be with.
My grandmother and I have a very close
relationship. I asked her what it was like growing up. She
was delighted to relate to me about her early life. She said she
was educated in a small village school run by Canadian missionaries in
Trinidad. "We had to buy our books and pay for our education.
It's not like today's schools. I went to school until I was in standard
one. Most people could not afford to educate their children.
"I grew up in a house with brothers, cousins,
aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We were a big family of
twenty- three. My father was a kind- hearted business man.
She said she helped out in her father's grocery store and took care
of her younger cousins.
One day , Bhagwantie , her mother, told Mooniah,
"'It is time for you to marry someone. You have to learn to cook,
wash and take care of a house.' My father found a husband for me.
I had no choice, but to listen to my parents. This is the custom
of East Indians. I was thirteen years old," she said. "I got
married to Ramsoobhag Kowlessar, your grandfather.
He was eighteen years old and helped his parents in the sugar cane field.
We lived with my in-laws for a few years.
"With only an elementary education I was able
to read, write, and do math like any sixteen year old can do in school
today." Mooniah's father gave them a grocery store and bar which
she was able to manage by herself while her husband took care of
twenty-five acres of sugarcane field.
She said, "My husband and I helped people
who didn't have clothing, food, and shelter. I called them in and
gave them what I had. I even gave them money to help
themselves. I did not like to see people in such situations.
Some people became envious and rebelled against me. In return, I
helped my enemies. I showed them loved and compassion. I gave
them food, clothing, and jobs to help their families."
During her spare time, she picked up a book and read, mainly
on the Hindu Gods. She is a person who elevated herself to
a superior position. She is religious and dedicated.
"When I was a child, I had to wear many pieces
of jewelry that were very heavy. I had to wear a bracelet on my arm
from my elbow to hand. I had to have two nose rings plus an earring
on my ears. I even had to wear foot bracelets which were heavy
on my ankles. I had to wear all of this." It was because if
she didn't then "my in-laws didn't want to eat from me.
They would consider me a low caste.
"I have five children whom I educated
to the best of my knowledge. I had a successful life.
Today people call me Queen of Barrackpore because I gave charity
and show love to all."
My grandmother Magoonie's stories are very interesting
to me because she told me things I could not believe happened. Her
life style was like during early American history: sewing their own
clothing by hand with a needle and thread, cooking in a fireplace, washing
clothes on a board, going to the bathroom in an outside toilet, rearing
their own chickens, and planting their own kitchen garden . Those
days were really tough. They had to carry water from the river
to water their gardens, wash clothes and scrub the floor with a brush.
When the rain fell they had to collect water in barrels, coppers, and buckets.
They used this water to cook and bathe. They had feasts like Thanksgiving.
Her husband worked in the field, and she took care of her business and
looked after her children. Her life was better than many women in
those days because she earned her own money.
My grandmother is kindhearted, loving and
cheerful. She is a vegetarian and loves to read religious books.
She makes life simple and easy. No problem is too big for her.
"You have to know how to deal with it," she said. "It's better to
give than to receive. It's the nature of God and love."
December 1998 Third
Place Winner for a 17 Year Old
"Grandma's Intriguing Life"
By Andrea Waugh
My grandmother, Mrs. Willel Douglas, is one of the
most important people in my life. She was born on March 15, 1941 in Clarenden,
Jamaica W.I. to Etia and Wilifred Douglas. She was born at home because
in those days, hospitals were too expensive, and she was very poor. She
was delivered by a Bush-Doctor, a person who supposedly has the capacity
or the ability to perform a doctor's work. They normally use plants for
medicine to treat any form of sickness. Sometimes people refer to them
as an "Obeah-man," a person who uses magic or beliefs of the dead to conquer
evil or anything to which he/she objects. This was the only kind
of doctor she could afford.
She lived in a house made of bricks. These
were the only kind of houses that poor people could afford. It was less
like a house and more like a hut. She had beds made of wires and grass
that gave her bed sores. Instead of being ashamed, she hoped that one day
God would allow her own mother to be happy. She even said, "We practically
had the best house in the community, so why be ashamed?"
Grandma practically grew up on the farm. She had
never been to school. She never learned how to read or write or even to
sign her own name. Her mother never believed in sending her to school.
She always wanted her children home cleaning or just staying around the
house at all times.
"I used to practically look after all my siblings. I had eight
brothers and sisters," she said. "Not even one of my brothers or sisters
went to school except for the last two children. They were more fortunate
because they were born in the early 1960's."
Without a proper education, finding job was very
difficult for her. However, she was able to get a baby-sitting job. She
loved children and was awfully good with them.
A few weeks after she had gotten her first job,
at the age of 14, her sister, Tuny died. This was where her real pain and
suffering began. It was only about five days after her birthday.
Her death was unnatural. According to a source, she had died from
the magic called "OBEAH." Two weeks before her death, she had stepped on
a nine inch nail that went all the way into her foot. That same day, a
"Bush-Doctor" predicted that she would die. Two weeks later she was
dead. She had died in my grandmother's arms while she was combing
her hair. She loved brushing her hair because it was so different.
She had dark-brown hair, brown eyes and was very light skinned.
"She was very special to me," my grandmother said
softly in a broken voice. "I can always remember when she first came to
me and she said, 'Can you please brush my hair.' I refused but then I said
okay. As I was brushing her hair she turned to me and said, 'I love you.'
Instead of telling her I loved her, I laughed, and then I shook her but
she didn't move. When my mom came, she said, 'She's gone, my baby is gone.'
I will never forget this. I will never forgive myself for not telling her
I loved her. If I could only turn back the clock." At this point,
my grandmother thought things couldn't get worst, but they did. Two weeks
later she lost her brother who they claimed died of stress due to the loss
of his beloved sister.
To help get her life back on track, she met a guy
named Dennis Lewis. "He was very tall, dark, and handsome," she claimed.
As time went by, she fell in love with him and at the age of sixteen, she
had her first child.
"Protection wasn't available as it is today and
even if it was, I wouldn't have been able to afford it," my grandmother
said. So at the age of sixteen, she didn't just start a relationship but
also a family. She eventually had eight children., four girls and four
boys. "I remember when I was pregnant with my eighth child, the same day
I went into the hospital to have my baby, my eldest came to me in the delivery
room to tell me that my husband was dead. There was nothing I could have
done or said. All I said was How? What? Why? And Where? Then my daughter
said, as she turned facing me slowly, 'Mama; he hung himself.' I
passed out ."
At this time her belief in God was gone. She just
didn't understand why all this was happening to her. She had lost her sister,
then her brother, and now her husband. It was as if there was no point
to life. Her husband's death was the most shocking. According to the same
source, "The Obeah had struck again," but my grandmother managed to go
on because she delivered the most beautiful baby girl, whom she named "Antonette"
for love peace and happiness. In order to keep her family going,
because without a father she had to, she worked out in the fields, cutting
cane, picking apples, and reaping tobacco just to make ends meet and to
pay off hospital bills.
In 1995, on Ash Wednesday, my Grandmother was hospitalized
in St. Catherine, Jamaica. She didn't know she was diabetic because
she had never been to a real medical doctor in all her life. As a
result of this, her diabetes was really bad, and she ended up in a coma
for about two weeks. She told us "I heard voices, my spirit walked all
over, and I remember clearly when this man came over to me. He was
not white color nor was he black. He said to me, 'I will heal you,
but you have to promise me that you will give your life to me.' And I said
What do you mean? He then said, 'Go to church and praise me.'"
My grandmother made the promise and the next day she was okay. The
day she got out the hospital she went directly to church and got baptized
in the name of The Lord. "I was saved and finally regained my Faith,"
she said.
Through all this, she was able to maintain a positive
self-image. "I would relive this because in the end I won great things
and achievements, not to mention morals,and my children and grandchildren
came from this life. I am proud of my life. I lived to see how great
life can be and, also, that life is what you make it, not what someone
else has made it to be."
December 1997 Winner
of Second Place for a 17 year old
"My Uncle's Death"
By Pedro Cruz
My uncle's name was Pedro Cruz, just like mine.
He was one of my favorite uncles. He died on July 23,
1990, one day before my birthday. It was 5:35 P.M. that afternoon
when I was with him in the hospital. He wanted to speak to me alone.
He told me several things before he died. I didn't remember everything,
but the two most important things that he told me were to take care of
myself and my family. The thing that he told me that had me confused
was that he said I should protect myself while I am engaging in sexual
intercourse. He also said to never let your friends make decisions
for you. The sex part I did not understand because I was too young
to know any better. I thought I was too young to learn about that
topic.
I never knew from what he was dying.
Minutes before he passed away he told me, "Pedro, you know why my face
is thin with veins popping out? Don't tell your parents I told you
this; I have AIDS. The doctor asked me how I think I got this.
I was hanging out with my friends one night, and they pressured me
to drink and get drunk and go to some place and have fun. That was
the place where I think I got HIV which then formed into AIDS."
He said, "Look at me carefully
and realize what AIDS could do to you." It was an ugly sight.
Then after he told me all that he started to cry and grabbed my hand, then
squeezed it tight and that was when that sound came on and obviously let
me know he was no longer alive. After that my parents came in crying
and touching his face and tried to bring him back. It was at that
moment that I realized once somebody passes away that person isn't ever
coming back. This event was the worst I ever experienced in my life.
Let my uncle rest in peace.
December 1997-First
Place Winner for a !7 Year Old
"Grandma"
By Bianca Serrano
When you ask an older person about their childhood,
they usually respond with phrases such as, "Those were the good old days."
But not my grandmother. The truth is, she never had much of a childhood.
I recently interviewed her and found out everything about the childhood
of my grandmother, Gladys Ortega.
"I was an orphan for as long as I can
remember," she started off. "I attended a Catholic school within
the orphanage. The staff was very cruel to me and to the other little
girls." My grandmother told me that both her parents died when she
was very young. She does not remember them at all and says that she
doesn't even remember the day that she was sent to the orphanage.
She has never known any of her relatives from either side.
She recalls the day that she was finally released from the orphanage.
It was less than a week after her eighteenth birthday. "I remember
the feeling of being alone in this world, having no one, knowing no one."
Luckily she met a man, a working man, whom she had dated several
times, and whom she expected to marry.
Six years after my grandmother was out of the orphanage, she
tells the story of the first time she came to New York from Puerto Rico.
"I was 24 years old. I came with my two young children, Wanda, 2
1/2, and Ismael, 11 months, and of course, my husband, whose name was Ismael.
I found America to be new and very different."
My grandma began working at a nearby factory
in Bushwick, Brooklyn, which was the area where she lived . Her husband
wanted a divorce about six years after moving to America. My grandma
was now left pregnant with twins and was responsible for raising the children
and keeping the household together. Nine years later, my grandma,
remarried, and now having just given birth to her fifth child, began a
new and improved life that was to stay that way until this day.
I learned a lot about my grandmother's childhood
and the way that she grew up that I never really got to know about because
she never spoke of it. She thanks God for her children and says that
she would not take back anything if she could, and she does not regret
a thing. "I would much rather that my children and myself had known
my family," she says, "But it didn't work out that way. She ends
by saying, "I am just grateful for having my five children, 11 grandchildren,
and my great-grandchild, the only family that I have. God bless them."
December 1997 Second
Place Winner for a 14 year old
"Action With No Thinking"
By Arled Serrano
It was a normal Saturday morning in Cypress
Hills, Brooklyn. Some children were playing in front of their houses.
Thirty-one year old Danny Lopez was enjoying his favorite sandwich in front
of his house.
Danny had been living in Cypress Hills his whole life.
He knew everything about the place. When he was smaller, he
used to hang around with the people sitting outside. Whenever he
had the spare time, he would jog around the neighborhood.
A hero from 'Midway Corner Store' was his
favorite sandwich. Every afternoon he would go to Midway and buy
his sandwich. He also learned many facts about life in Cypress Hills.
A wonderful thing about Danny was that he
would risk his life to save someone else's life. He would say it
was his nature. Growing up in Cypress Hills he has seen many accidents.
He knew that people were busy and tended to forget things; therefore, the
unexpected could happen at anytime.
On a day that seemed to be like any other day, Danny came to
the rescue. He did not realize something was about to happen that
he would remember for the rest of his life. That day he woke up bright
and early. Around noon he went off to the store to buy his
sandwich.
When he started to eat his sandwich, he saw
a dark cloud of smoke in the sky. He jumped up and rushed to see
from where the smoke was coming. Two blocks away a seven story
building was on fire. He thought that everyone had gotten out
safely. Suddenly, he heard a grandmother of a disabled nine year
old girl screaming in Spanish, "fire, fire, fire, my baby is trapped inside."
The grandmother was taking care of her, but she went to the store to buy
an 'Adobo.' While her grandmother was at the store, the fire
began in her apartment by a defective stove. Since the building
was old, the fire spread quickly throughout the building. The fire
fighters were desperately trying to put out the fire. They couldn't
cover every floor. Someone had to help and save the girl. Quick
thinking was needed.
When he heard the grandmother's screams for
help, he came to the rescue. He went up a fire escape. He broke
the window and went inside. While he was inside the burning building,
the flames were torching his skin; inside the burning building, the smoke
was black and thick. He could not see a thing. He had to feel
his way around, hoping that he would not burn to death. He was thinking,
"I have to save this girl." He finally found the girl. He picked
her up and brought her outside The paramedics and the fire fighters were
outside. The paramedics gave the girl CPR. And, then, they
took her to the hospital.
After one week the girl found out that Danny
was the one who saved her. She found out from her grandmother when
they were in the Midway corner store. Danny was buying a hero.
She asked him, "'Are you the one that saved my life?'" He replied,
"Are you the one that was trapped inside the burning house?" She
was really proud of him. Since that day they became good friends,
and she always visits him.
Danny Lopez, now sixty-two years old, is my godfather.
December 1997 Winner
for a 17 Year Old
"A Dedicated Father"
By Amanda Dwarka
As I interviewed my grandfather on the 16th
February, 1997, I found some of the things he had to say very interesting
and suprising and others not so suprising.
My grandfather's name is Mr. Bhamdeo.
When he was born he was not given a legal first name, but his family and
friends called him Gresho. My grandfather will be sixty - five years
old. At twenty-one he married his young fifteen year old bride, a
marriage his parents had arranged, but no one would ever know by looking
at them. They seem so in love, and they are.
Together my grandfather and his young bride faced
the triumph and difficulties of raising six children, and so far after
forty one years of marriage and twelve grandchildren, my grandfather
still thinks, "She was wonderful, and until now she is a wonderful lady.
. . . Dedicated grandmother you got," he said without hesitation, and I
can't help but agree with him. Anytime any of us needs them,
my grandparents are always there for us. They are now refered to
as "grandparents to the rescue."
My grandfather worked to support his family
by being a fireman, and when asked what his job was like, he replied by
saying, "The job was great. . . .The firefighters used ambulances.
When you were working the amulance you saw different people, met different
people, witnessed different types of accidents. . . ." Here is one of his
more memorable stories that has always stuck in the back of his mind: ".
. .A guy fell from a tree and got stuck on a fence. About eight to
six inches stave was in his back and about two feet projected out of his
back," he said reliving this tragic moment. Fortunately, the man
survived this accident.
As we talk my grandfather and I discuss the issue
of parenting when he was a child. My grandfather believed that parents
back then had more discipline than today. Also, there are parents
who are more interested in their social life than their children.
My grandfather said that no matter what-you can stay hungry, but
your children shouldn't, and by this he meant that your children should
be your first priority.
My grandfather was not used to the different climate
when he first moved to the United States. He was used to the tropical
weather, not the cold weather. Another thing he was not used to was
the way most things are precooked. He was used to cooking something
fresh and from the start. I also faced a conflict with what my grandfather
called, "The American style of living," when I first came to the United
States from Guyana.
My grandfather told me his fondest memories were
the birth of his children, three were born at home and three at the hospital.
His second fondest memory are his children's weddings. His oldest
daughter had a big wedding but my mom's was the biggest wedding for the
Bhamdeo family. Then the weddings that took place in the United States
were small. Hindu weddings in the United States are held in a hall.
At Hindu weddings in Guyana there is no cake until the following week,
there are no bridesmaids or best man and no first dance by the bride and
groom and there is no throwing of the bouquet.
My grandfather is looking forward to a happy retirement
where he can relax and do a little traveling in Europe and maybe have a
litle money to spend on these vacations.
December 1995 Winner
of Second Place for 14 Year Olds
"Mother's Young Life"
By Hashim Watts
Cynthia Hammond was born May 26, 1956, in Harlem, New York.
"I grew up on 145th street," she said. It was a good neighborhood; everybody
knew each other. Everybody in the neighborhood had good working jobs.
My mother always said her childhood dream was to grow up on her own because
she was tired of listening to her mother. "I always admired my six
grade teacher because she was the first black teacher I had and I thought
that all black people could be somebody."
When she was growing
up she said the civil rights movement was the most important event in those
days. "As a child, I remember when Martin Luther King Jr. died.
I was in school. The principal made an announcement over the loud
speaker and my teacher started to cry in vain. The next day we had a memorial
assembly and we listened to his last speech. There was a riot that
night. There was looting and burning of all of the businesses on 125 street.
I'll never forget it. After that every one was talking about the
Black Power movement, To be Black and Proud.
"When I went to school I walked or took the bus to schoo," she
said. There wasn't a lot of violence in school. But later there
started to be violence. She said, "That's why we hardly learned anything;
kids started acting up.
"The teachers used to hit us if we did something wrong or didn't
do our work." My mother told me that her mother used to come up to school
and in front of the class beat her if the teacher told her mother
that she did something wrong or bad. "Then when I was getting to
know more people I started going to hookie parties with boys. I really
didn't like going to school. I hated it and some of my teachers got on
my nerves and made it boring for me." But she did graduate in 1974. "After
I graduated I felt free and good."
"For entertainment in my day we used to go to the Saturday matinee.
We would see two movies and a cartoon for fifty cents." When she
came home after the movies she used to talk on the phone or watch television
on a black and white screen because nobody was home. "My mother was always
at her job." She worked in a factory.
"For fun me and my girlfriends played jump rope with long cords.
Another thing we did for fun was to go to disco night and clubs."
She also hung around her block when there was nothing to do. The
last thing I asked my mother was would she like to live her old life again.
She responded, "No, not again because people really didn't care about each
other then. People cared about themselves and not family."
December 1994 Winner of First Place for
14 Year Olds
"Grandma's Story"
By Richard Coram
My grandmother's name is Elenor Young. She was born on
March 24th in 1926 in Harlem, New York. "I lived where the Mafia
was concentrated," she said. "They were a mean Italian group
that violated almost every law there was." When grandma was eight
years old she moved to Virginia, and went to elementary school there, and
came back to New York for high school.
Grandma always dreamed of becoming a nurse. She wanted
to be a nurse during World War II. During this time Roosevelt was
president. "I admired President Roosevelt because he gave jobs to
the poor. My father was one of those people."
"I walked to school most of the time because my mother hardly
had enough money to send me by bus." Grandma lived in the poor section
of her town, and it was 5 cents for train and bus. "My mother made
our clothes and my aunt would sometimes send us clothes. She lived
down South, " she said. "My mother made about $5000 income
a year so we didn't have a car which cost about $2000."
"I went to an all girls high school and there were no talking
in the halls, no "slacks," pants, and there were hardly any fighting or
hardly any cutting class. I was afraid of cutting because I was afraid
of getting hit by teachers." She said, "If hit by teachers, hit by
parents, and no girl wanted that."
The type of subjects grandma had in high school were algebra,
French, Latin, biology, English, history, and gym. She said,
"Gym is a required class and it must be passed to pass the grade."
There were general and academic choices for classes. "I took general
because I thought it would be easier." Grandma liked school because
she liked to learn. She said that there were specialized teachers.
During the summer before college she worked as a "candy stripe
girl" which is a less sophisticated nurse's aid. She thought that
a summer job would help pay for college, and it did.
Grandma started talking about basic things and she says that
sidewalks were made of smooth blocks of marble and apartments were
lovely. "We cooked on gas stoves, and bathed in bath tubs with legs.
We washed clothes on a wash board in the tub."
Measles was the main disease. "People in my day weren't
aware of modern diseases. The sex disease was syphilis." she said.
That was a fright to my day." Grandma says," Despite all the tough
things to live with, life was quite easy. I never felt poor."
She ate dinner with her family and had family talks but her family
was strict. They were so strict that they chose her friends.
Her mother " even had a say about my boyfriend."
Grandma's first boyfriend came when she was 17 years old.
She also got her first kiss at that age. "When I was kissed, I thought
my mother was peeking so I went inside crying that night, and my mother
said, 'why are you crying, I saw you kissing,'" grandma said and I laughed.
Grandma's main concern was to finish junior high and high school.
Her only goal was to become a nurse but like I said, money was tight.
"I still had a little fun; we went to ice cream parlors or movies for entertainment."
she says.
"My parents would never let me hang out late." Her parents were
concerned, knowing that the Mafia was terrorizing the streets. "Other
than the Mafia, bullies would fist fight in the street and snatch fruit
from fruit stands." The major crime in grandma's day was murder,
and the punishment was the electric chair.
Remember that grandma and the rest of the Negro people had to
fight discrimination, so if you were caught looking suspicious you were
seized. "That's why most kids were looking neat." She said "In my
time people had to fight discrimination."
Grandma said that the favorite styles and trends were "bangs"
for the girls and afros for the boys. Favorite music artists were
Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, and Percy Sledge. Grandma says we wore
"saddle shoes and socks, pleated skirts and blouses, very long dresses,
and the boys wore bell bottoms and zoot suits. She said that if you
had a Rolls Royce, a Ford or a Cadillac you were in style.
When grandma got married, she wore a large white dress and she
had a private wedding at her mother-in-law's home. "It was beautiful."
It was easier to raise kids then. Parents and children had more conversations.
People had totally different values. The changes today aren't all
that good. The only improvements are washing machines and television.
However, "T.V. introduces some thought that need not be generated into
a child's mind." Grandma is glad though that life became easier.
"Change is progress," she said.
"After high school, I went to North Carolina State College in
Durham," she said.. Grandma would like to tell today's youth
to remember to say "please", "thank you" and to make finishing college
a goal in life.