Another year...

 

Thank you for your sentiments; another year quickly came to closure and has now morphed into another new year. In essence, I am good. Celestial angels continue to bless me even as I wonder why and think that they have me mixed up with someone else! The past several weeks best “capsulates” the past year as far as being busy with activities that have ranged across diverse interests. Of note, aaduna continues to be a “playa.”  

Back in June, as part of the Auburn’s 2024 city-wide Juneteenth celebrations, aaduna in partnership with the Auburn Enlarged City School District , Seymour Library and the Friends of Seymour Library hosted “Words and Art” with poets Howard Nelson, Chantel Frazier, Ron Van Nostrand, Sarah Collins and Shawnte Blyss Barr; an exhibition of artwork by 3^rd and 4^th grade  Owasco Elementary students, and the premier of Auburn artist, writer and muralist, Arthur Hutchinson’s newest work “Cosmic Black Joy,” an exhibition of images on tapestries that hung from the ceiling of the library’s main floor and outside entrance.  This event had the largest audience of any other library event.

On October 1, aaduna sponsored poetry readings at the Seward House Museum’s (Auburn) First Friday where we presented radio personality and bluesman Doug Curry (Rochester, NY) and SUNY New Paltz English professor, Dr. Sarah Wyman (Hudson Valley, NY) reading recent works. Local musician Ron Van Nostrand (Moravia) provided original acoustic music on guitar and vocals.

On October 19^th, I moderated aaduna’s reading and discussion with lawyer, entrepreneur, minister and author, Joe H. Holland, an Auburn native now living in Harlem at Seymour Library (Auburn.) We discussed and chatted about his life and recent book, Make Your Own History, Timeless Truths from Black American Trailblazers. Joe also did book signings.

And on this past Thursday, November 7^th, aaduna in association with the National Park Service closed out “Fierce!” a poetry trilogy that was designed to feature three women poets/writers and had its initial presentation at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY in 2018. The second iteration, “Fierce! Revisited and Reframed” was convened at the Carriage House Theater, Cayuga Museum of History and Art in Auburn. Two male poets were special guests and again, there women framed the evening.

At Thursday’s reading, two of the original poets, Karen Faris, Rochester; Cyd Charisse Fulton, East Stroudsburg, PA were joined by Tamara J. Madison (Orlando, FL) who read at the second iteration. We were pleased and grateful that aaduna convened first public presentation at the recently renovated and restored Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church and Parsonage on Parker Street in Auburn. This historically important church fell on hard times and was “condemned” until the National Park Service secured it as part of the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park. Tubman’s funeral service was held in this church in 1913 and had been a central worshipping force in her life while she lived in Auburn.

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On a more personal level, I was invited and accepted the role of Frederick Douglass in a staged reading excerpted from The Auburn Conference written by New Orleans resident, Tom Piazza, the principal writer for the HBO series Treme and author of eleven books of fiction and non-fiction. This theatrical event was presented by and held at Auburn Public Theater.

I continue my work with the County Sheriff’s Community Collaborative Advisement Committee; recently accepted the coordinator’s role and will serve as a member of the board for the County District Attorney’s newly established Juvenile Community Accountability Board that is scheduled to initiate its work in January 2025. I remain a member of Auburn’s Human Rights Commission and continue work with the NYS Commission on African American History as chair of the Sites, Localities and Placemaking sub-committee.  

Gardening and creating an intriguing landscape to frame the house keeps me busy and remains a consistent passion. 77 South is now going through its second quarter-century renovation, and I have to take all proposed external work through a city-wide historic commission for approval and then the code department for permits. Yuck.}

Lisa is fine (we celebrated 14 years of marriage in May and have been together for 24.) She continues her ever increasing corporate work with The UPS Store as an Area Development Manager in several Northeastern states where she works with potential franchisees in opening new stores and assisting established owners when they are ready to sell a store. She is able to work from home with occasional regional quarterly meetings that means we periodically “road-trip” since I am her driver! (LOL.) Our blended family is doing well with Shannon and Bryan with two grandchildren (boy and girl) living in Rush, NY and Isis and Stephano with three grands (2 girls and 1 boy) living in Los Angeles.

Our indoor/outdoor cats, Sylvester and Rosie, still control a significant aspect of my life and I often wonder who trained who?!!!

So, as I reflect on all of this life stuff, I kick-start another Birth Day year. Again, thanks for your Birth Day wishes and do not regard this narrative as a “brag-sheet” but rather the answer to the question most of us eventually face., “So, what’s up with you?”  

Be well.

Stay safe and blessed by your celestial angels.

Bill