Running behind Katrina making sure that I kept her straight
She was presdiednt of the youth council in 77
I started going to st mary's hospital to the advisory board meetings
1984
When they first asked me, I said I don't knjow anything about running this board!"
They told me, don't worry about a thing, we're going to wrok with you
After six months, they left me like a flower by myself
Being able to help people, help the patients that came through the hostpial and trying ot make it a place that when yhou came for your care that you felt secure and comfortable there
That board works with the hospital administration and it's a hand to hand administration
So many things because we had a representative from each dept and each month they had to let us know what was going on
It was just a nice family working relationship
1996 the board was disbanded but I was asked to remain as interim chairperson, right now I still hold the title even though there's no functioning board
everybody still tells people that I'm the board and I tell them they shouldn't do that
I wanted to get on that board a nd I found out that was a broader specrum of what I was doing
In fact I went to the meetings for one whole year to see if I would feel comfortable doing it
I applied and
Accepted in march 1994 and I've been there ever since
Some of the older people, ruthie lewis was on that board for maybe about 15 or 20 years
All of them they're gone, so it's mr. matthews and myself we have the two longerst tuneres
So far
I never thought I would last that long
Never thought I would stay there that long, but I think what happened with the more knowledgeg I got, the more mellow I become that I could just adapt
Administrative assistant
It's been four years, I do a little part time for the city on the weekends
But as a 9-5 I haven't
First heart attack in 2000, ever since then it's been going downhill but I've been hanging in with those board meetings
Ive' gotten eight perfect attendanace meetings
This year will be the first year that I haven't received a perfect attendance award
This year it was a rough year I lost my mother in February
It's just been kind of rough the rest of the year
Just had a 2nd mild heart attack
Again, helping people and having an impact on the things and the changes that take place in my community. Being a part of making history.
I see so many things, there's a light on my corner that I have put in
On the block I live on, prostepct and Utica, everybody needed a light on that corner
So I did the petitions, sent them in and the dept of dot sent me a letter that it would be put up the day after labor day
I went to my family reunion, When I came back, there was my light right there
I'm going to slow down a little bit because of my health
The next year I'm going to try to work
Getting the potholes fixed
It's not a lot of monumental things but a lot of little things that need doing in the community
It's also with a bank of knowledge, who do I call about such and such
And I say hold on go on
Just having the knowledge where to send somebody that's a big plus, it feels good when you can
To me it feels good when I can help somebody
It's just been a big rewarding experience
Each meeting it's a new experience, each time
Because each month there is something different that we have to deal with
Now we're fighting about that arena that's coming
I had no real summer vacation because that's all it was about
But it's inevitable it's going to be built,
It's not just an arena for the nets, it should have community participation in it
It's just a great feeling, eachmonth when you leave the meeting and if someone has asked for a liquor liscense and you know they don't deserve it or someone put in the community wanted to put a homless shelter right where you live a
It's nice to know that we accomplished something as a group
Because I don't think anything should be going on in backyard that I don't know about
Right now we're trying to get some changes with transit
I was hoping to attend the public hearing on the 10th, but I don't beliewve that
They're
Close to 100 token booths in Brooklyn, what I want to do is to print a list off the othe internet and start make copies and pass them out
I don't want someone nto come out one night and there is no one in the toll booth
As soon as I hear these things, I'll tell people that there's such and such going to happen and no one knows it
They can't afaford to cut that bus off of the line
When you have that knowledge, you can let other people know
Those are my two babies:
Police and emergency
The fact being able to get the same training that nypd gets, we got it in a crash course, we received the same materials
To receive that responisiblity
You walk out this building and you see the building across the street on fire you assess the situation
You work out how many people eare in the building, you prep them for how many people they're going to run into there
CERT
June 2004
Three month class
Haven't use it yet
We did have a fire in my community
But so far I haven't used it
It's not only for fire, you can do the cpr and if I go out here and all these car accidents that are happening,
What the situation is, so they all know what kind of equipment to bring
I knew a couple of ppeople who went ot the class
At the time I really didn't understand the fullness of that class
Every now and then I run into somebody who say they had went throught he training
A girlfriend called me up and tol d
How'd you get that class? I want in on that class!
She'd tell me
Of course, nosy me, I was like I want to go in that class
For
The same girlfriend was at the
She was at the 77 precinct councnil meeting and the paper passed by and she grabbed it
And she said guess what I found out about ?
I said don't worry about it, I'll go
I said you came to the first class, she wasn't able to make it, and I said I'll complete the class
That's when I wanted to bring it into board 8 to get the same training
Because not only is it to just help emergency people it's something that you can use in your home. Learn how to take control of a siatuion
Grease fire or whatever
It's not a course that you really use to help anyone afterwards. It' more or less a personal training where you get to have a better insight
They give you all kinds of scenarios if there is a gay person that getes hurt, how you handle them
How you calm them down, the same thing with a normal person, they taught us about abuse
Different situations, they would take us into the auditorum for us to learn how to handle these situations
Stretch out on my couch and look at tv
That and cook sometimes
Sweet potato pie and greens
Virgina
Lawrenceville
My husban's father passed and he wanted me to come back to ny and give brith to his great-neice in NY
Feb. 1973
When you're in Russia do like the Russians,
New york was kind of testy
There's so many different resources, if you can make it here you can go anywhere and make it
If you don't take advantage of the resources that are out there, you're lostWhen I was growing up my godfather raised me
When my daughter was little, I took her on sightseeing tours that people
We went up to the top
I used to take her on the friends out, prospect park
Jump rope
Christmas up to Rockefeller center, roller skate around
They had a game room there, we would leave there like 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning and go back to my house
I miss those days, I have to get me a foster child so I can do those things again
Daughter is how old 31
I'm 55.
I'm content what I'm doing and I think the council should be for someone her age
11/01/04
when I was growing up my godmother raised me
in Eastger she had an easter eggs hunt for us at the house every year
we always had brown bags with apples and oranges and candy
little things likek that
I guess that's where I got my start from
People got sick she would go and dow whatever she could for them
Like what people do today
I never really sat down and thought about it
I've always liked helping people period and this is like my niche.
My mother was young when she had me and my my greatgrandfather raised me until he got sick and died
At that point it w
What was going to become of me when I was 5
She asked my mother if she could raise me
I stayed with her but my mother still sent money for food and clothes
My baby sister got killed in California about maybe 15 years ago
He lives in Virginia
He's a nurse in a hospital in Norfolk
The pastor
We were always taught to look up to the pastor
When Katrina was growing up they were taught to look up to the police
The church down south that was the thing
The church, and if you couldn’t' believe in the minister, there was no place else to go
Religion was very strong back then, people tended to believe in religion very strong
Baptist
Every Sunday
First Baptist of Crown Heights
Clarence Norman, Senior
I just changed my membership a year ago the first Sunday of this month but I've attended that church for 20 years
I'm an usher
My aunt was an usher when I was growing up and when I would come up in the summer to visit my mother I would go to church with my aunt
That was my love and I just continued straight on through.
One thing, I love my white uniform that I wear
Ushering is like the eastern stars. We have a society of our own and if you're not an usher, you just fill out of the loop. It's something special where you can get dressed on Sunday and put that uniform on because we're the first people that you see when you enter a church. And the way that we approach you determines how your day is going to go in that church. Because if you come in and I stand on the floor looking all mean and evil and you're having a bad day then I'm not helping on you at all
That starts filling you up and preparing you for the service that you're there for . it brightens your day, you could have had a thought of committing suicide but that changes your whole mental attitude.
I love it
I guess you really have to have faith because if you don't there's no margin that you are trying to get to. You're just floating with no purpose at all.
You know to be truthful, I wouldn't just say that my Baptist upbringing, it's just the upbringing period. No matter whether you're Baptist, catholic, muslim, there's only one god and one faith.
This is going to have a major impact on the things that I do.
I'm going to have to change my lifestyle altogether, I'm going to have to do a lot of slowing down. I'm going to slow down but I'm not going to pull out of the race altogether.
I'm going to be in my house on the telephone instead of running around going to meetings and going to seminars, but I'll still be out there.
Trust me, Katrina and I were arguing last night because we're having out NY State Memorial for the ushers on the weekend of the 13th
I said
I wanted to go to church
It's really going to be interesting because we're going to be fighting all the time. There's going to be things in November, there's an alzheimers conference at Jacob javis center. I RSVP'd a long time ago,
A lot of things I'llt ry to get Katrina to accompany me if not then I guess I won't be going.
Too close.
We've always been very close.
I lost one through optopic pregnancy and Katrina is the other.
Do you see a lot of yourself in her?
Yes and no.
She's every bit
Aries the ram and when they get a notion you can beat them
She gets that determination from me. I see that determiniation in her from me.
But she's very strong willed
Tomorrow when the surgery is over they'll put me in the CC unit
If everything stays stable then I'll come back on the floor with the general population
Possibly I'll be going home Sunday
When I go out I go out for the day
If I go out on Monday I might not be able to go out again until next week
Last year st. Mary's hospital which is right down the street from my house
Parts of it were closed
Being as I used to be the president of the amunatory board there
They called me to come in and help work with them
In trying to keep the hospital from closing
Matthews
Norman
Doris Alexander who is my District Manager
You can contact Clarine Mill, we have been friends for at least 25 years
718-467-8755
Kingston and St. John's
I met her when Katrina and her grandchild when to Brown Woods together
Bernice Canadate, 3 or 4 years
212-404-3646
Donna Williamson, Friend
212-633-5210
We used to party together
Katrina adopted her as her godmother and we used to hang out together all the time
She got married and I came into doing my community work but we're still friends
Husband passed away in 1988
Single mom
Katrina:
718-908-1500
Where the election has been neck to neck
For any election they should provide something
It's 32 people on this floor, there are 10 floors in this hospital
Let's say 300 that means 300 votes
We're talking maybe 4 or 500 people who are not going to be able to vote
That's my next campaign for the next election, they got to provide hospitals
The medical facilities hospitals, they've got to do something
If things work out ok, sept. in fact we need it for the primary also
I'll what I can't get going.
I'm like "I want my vote to be counted tomorrow."