My mother was a great organizer and proved her vast influence to me every year at her yearly fundraiser; the NAACP Dinner and Dance. Cleopatra's goal was to have this annual formal event at the best and biggest venue in the area which was the Colonial Terrace, a Victorian Manson in Corlandt Manor. Mom worked on this event all year long by getting local businesses to buy tables, soliciting adveristments in the journal, and hanging posters in their establishments. Cleopatra also schmoozed with the aristocrats and politicians in the area and invited them to attend, sit on the dais or speak at the event. The NAACP Dinner and Dance came to be known as "the event" of the year in the county and everyone looked forward to attending the gala with anticipation.
During the day of the big event our house buzzed with excitement, everyone in the house prepared for the night of festivities ahead. Between the trips to the beauty parlor, barber shop, tailor, cobbler, cleaner, and florist our mother orchestrated our every movement to make sure every child in attendance looked their best. Cleopatra Jones definitely lived up to her name, that year my mother went to the NAACP Dinner and Dance in a light blue and white Senegalese Bubu dress and head wrap ordained with elaborate embroidery.
The journal was filled with advertisments and letters of endorsement from local businessmen and polictians but it also contained the agenda for the evening ahead. During the cocktail reception my mother was a terrific host who made everyone of her guests feel at home and made introductions throughout the room. While dinner was served my mother conducted the introductions of the dais and set the stage for the speeches and activities to come. After all the scheduled speeches and honors were completed it was time to dance and all the guests enjoyed cutting a rug with Cleopatra. What a great time filled with great memories and the song of the evening: Me and Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday Morning
Growing up in a big family meant Sunday morning seemed like dress rehearsal for a major theatrical production at our Dutch Street home. The mission was for everyone to get ready for Sunday school and church: How does every person in the house get their chance to use the only bathroom in the house? I know it sounds amazing but we actually accomplished this fate and here is how we did completed this task without using the kitchen sink.
Sharing the Bathroom:
In order to take care of our cleanliness we had to be creative in our use of the bathroom so that everyone would have their turn to do "their business". Many times we all shared access to our accommodations, which meant doubling up use of the sink and the bath tub. My Mom had a sign on the bathroom door which read, " Please knock before entering, I'd hate to be caught with my pants down" (It had a embarrassed cartoon figure with his butt showing - I loved that sign).
The first task was to find out if someone was in the restroom, to accomplish this task we usually knocked on the door to see if the bathroom was occupied. If someone was in the lavatory the person waiting needed to know if a boy or girl was inside and what the person was doing. If the kid inside wanted the kid waiting to enter the bathroom they would say come in, if they wanted their privacy the kid outside would have to wait their turn. Usually the person in the bathroom would let the waiting person in the bathroom, no matter what they were doing, if they were the same sex. The small girls of the household took baths together and the boys followed this same procedures unless your were a teenager. As the girls and boys grew older and began to develop each person received their privacy in the facilities (I always wondered why it took my older sisters hours in the bathroom until I became a teenager).
As you can imagine, many of us kids used the bathroom at the same time no matter what anyone was doing. In our house being modest was not really an option usually each child was not interested in the other kids body parts. Four or five children would be gathered around the wash basin at the same time to take care of their hygiene. On Sunday morning the little ones only had to wash their faces and brush their teeth because they would have taken their baths the night before.
Ready for Inspection:
Once everyone in the house was dressed in their Sunday best we now had to pass inspection before starting our trek to the Dutch Reform Church about a mile away. As we came downstairs to eat breakfast the inspection started with Mom standing at the foot of the steps observing each child as they descended. If any child didn't meet the muster they were sent back upstairs to correct the problem which meant we all had to wait to before eating Sunday breakfast. Usually the younger kids had forgot to brush their teeth or wash their face so Mom kept a washcloth nearby to keep them from having to return back upstairs.
In God's House:
Most of the time we went to Sunday school at our neighborhood church but on special occasions we would attend church with Mom. Going to church with mom was exciting because everyone knew Cleopatra Jones so the old mothers of the church would always have something for us like candy or gum. My Mom always looked so pretty in her church clothes; she usually wore a suit with a matching hat and gloves. She always smelled nice too, her favorite perfume was Shalamar.
Now making sure 12 children behave during the service could be a major chore and funny at times....... Stay tuned!
Sharing the Bathroom:
In order to take care of our cleanliness we had to be creative in our use of the bathroom so that everyone would have their turn to do "their business". Many times we all shared access to our accommodations, which meant doubling up use of the sink and the bath tub. My Mom had a sign on the bathroom door which read, " Please knock before entering, I'd hate to be caught with my pants down" (It had a embarrassed cartoon figure with his butt showing - I loved that sign).
The first task was to find out if someone was in the restroom, to accomplish this task we usually knocked on the door to see if the bathroom was occupied. If someone was in the lavatory the person waiting needed to know if a boy or girl was inside and what the person was doing. If the kid inside wanted the kid waiting to enter the bathroom they would say come in, if they wanted their privacy the kid outside would have to wait their turn. Usually the person in the bathroom would let the waiting person in the bathroom, no matter what they were doing, if they were the same sex. The small girls of the household took baths together and the boys followed this same procedures unless your were a teenager. As the girls and boys grew older and began to develop each person received their privacy in the facilities (I always wondered why it took my older sisters hours in the bathroom until I became a teenager).
As you can imagine, many of us kids used the bathroom at the same time no matter what anyone was doing. In our house being modest was not really an option usually each child was not interested in the other kids body parts. Four or five children would be gathered around the wash basin at the same time to take care of their hygiene. On Sunday morning the little ones only had to wash their faces and brush their teeth because they would have taken their baths the night before.
Ready for Inspection:
Once everyone in the house was dressed in their Sunday best we now had to pass inspection before starting our trek to the Dutch Reform Church about a mile away. As we came downstairs to eat breakfast the inspection started with Mom standing at the foot of the steps observing each child as they descended. If any child didn't meet the muster they were sent back upstairs to correct the problem which meant we all had to wait to before eating Sunday breakfast. Usually the younger kids had forgot to brush their teeth or wash their face so Mom kept a washcloth nearby to keep them from having to return back upstairs.
In God's House:
Most of the time we went to Sunday school at our neighborhood church but on special occasions we would attend church with Mom. Going to church with mom was exciting because everyone knew Cleopatra Jones so the old mothers of the church would always have something for us like candy or gum. My Mom always looked so pretty in her church clothes; she usually wore a suit with a matching hat and gloves. She always smelled nice too, her favorite perfume was Shalamar.
Now making sure 12 children behave during the service could be a major chore and funny at times....... Stay tuned!
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