Remember Christmas 6

 I had a part in a Nativity play I was Joseph, the leading actor.  Every boy in the school wanted to be near the girl that played the lead female part.  Deanna.  Deanna was Mary.  I had long since been in love with her, so of course I was devastated when I got ill and had to be hospitalized.  No end seemed in sight.  The doctors could not find out what ailed me.  I went through a battery of test and still no results and not feeling any better.  The Christmas season was fast approaching and I was feeling depressed.

         Sick and in hospital how miserable can that be?  Then I got a gift a pair of Cowboy guns and holster. My spirits perked up.  Still sick but in a much better mood.   Then one evening a man came visiting whom I had never seen before, and he took a picture of me, standing on my bed with my guns drawn. He promised to return a later with a copy of the photograph.   My mood changed miraculously and I began to feel better.  The spirit of Christmas was in the air again.          Oh! How I love this festive season of the year.  Soon come the day that I was to be discharged the man had not returned with the picture of me.  I was packed and ready and waiting for my parents to pick me up.  I sat on my bed feeling very sad and pensive. May be I would never see the man who took the picture of me again.  Then I would never see how I looked?  

However, remember this is Christmas just as I remove my hands from my eyes the man came rushing in, waving my

picture over his head.  I love it! I look great! I was overjoyed. I remember Christmas.

Art sick and in hospital I copied from a photograph taken of me. The first illustration I sold to a collector. While painting a second rendition of this photograph I noticed my father’s hand writing what he wrote will always be in the fore front of my mind and my wish is that it will ever guide my actions. He wrote {why were you born.  All about water Baptism}.

Love

Rowan Abbensetts

Folk Incognito Blog Master

https://www.spokenblackgirl.com/

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Remember Christmas Chapter 5

Daddy loved Christmas.  During this time of the year, he took control of the kitchen.  Prepared the turkey, the Ham the Garlic Pork, boiling the pigs feet and ears to make souse. Boiling down the beef for the pepper pot and using all of the rich spices.  Not forgetting the rum punch and Punch a cream.  We stood by like nurses passing the different cooking utensils to him the surgeon who performing the different cuts on the turkey, ham and roast pork. 

         During all this cooking activity, loud calypso music was being played, With a Christmas festive flare.  Infusing our minds with the sounds of Christmas, we will never forget.  Mummy would peak every once a while. Concerned about the state of her kitchen, which was now taken over?  This was the only time of the year she did not interfere with activities in her kitchen.   Mummy got about decorating the living room area of the house.  When the food was in the oven, everyone gathered around to help her.  She was quite a boss, but we loved her all the same.  The Christmas tree had to be lifted in and placed into position.   We always had a very big natural Christmas tree.  Last year’s carton with all the Christmas decorations was brought down and old lights were tested and all broken bulbs discarded and new ones put in place.  Then came Christmas Eve night when we wrapped gifts and placed them under the tree.  Oh! How I loved Christmas. Now all tired, we try to stay up as long as our eyes would permit to see when Santa would come with all our gifts.  He only came after we drifted into a deep sleep. 

I Remember Christmas.

Attached art O Holy Night inspired to paint after hearing song by a beautiful woman one night on my way home from work on the Manhattan Subways. Attached links to Remember Christmas on Nook eBooks and links to my daughters Magazine Spoken Black Girl. All art shown on my blog are for sale except book illustrations.

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Remember Christmas 4

On Christmas Eve, we excitedly took a trip to the shopping district.  The roads were packed with shoppers and hawkers.  There were vendors on both sides of the street making it difficult to walk on the pavement.  Firecrackers went off “Bang! Bang!” Whistles and horns blaring in the esthetic Christmas air. They were tons of toys and lots of food for sale.

          Of course, one cannot leave out the masquerade dancers they were fun.  Accompanied by flute players and drummers making merry music. Joining them was the scary “Mad Bull with his horns and fearsome face.  Then there was the Granny long lady on stilts with her face painted white.  “Man is fun.”    The masquerade dancers and the flouncing musicians singing and chanting ‘Christmas comes but once a year so drinks your rum and tumble down, “Bato, Bato”!  Christmas comes but once a year so flounce if you flouncing “Bato, Bato”!  Christmas comes but once a year so wine and tumble down on the ground “Bato, Bato”!

         Up the road there steel pan players beating out sweet carols at a bouncy calypso beat. In addition, girls and boys, women and men dancing up a storm to the rhythm of Christmas calypso music. 

          Oh! Boy I love this Christmas season.  

I remember Christmas. 

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REMEMBER CHRISTMAS 3

In the sixties in Guyana was going through a period of political unrest.  There was protest, rioting looting and thousands of workers were on strike. There were food shortages and many houses and business were burnt to the ground.  These were frightening times for children. My aunt Yvonne whom we lived with then was also on strike.  My brother and I had gone to live with her while; our parents were away in Ghana West Africa.

          Therefore I will always remember the sad rainy day when the miracle of Christmas came rippling into our world.  Our aunt Yvonne came bursting into our bedroom dancing and flouncing.  Flouncing is a traditional dance step in Guyana, preformed mainly during the Christmas season.

          Suddenly while flouncing away with the majesty of Christmas Aunt Yvonne raised the hem of skirt and out flew a toy.  Then with one, more whirl and toss of the hem of her skirt out flew another toy.  To my brother and I these were the best of gifts of the season, nothing else mattered.  Our hearts were so content it would not have mattered if we received no new gifts.  We were completely satisfied.  Her dance of an angle flowing with joy and Peace lifted our hearts with promise and happiness.

          I remember Christmas. 

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Remember Christmas chapter 2

Chapter 2

During the Christmas season, one of the traditions in Ghana was to build a trash house. This trash house was built out of the leaves from a palm tree.  You then spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in it rejoicing the day Christ was born.  This custom symbolized the humble way that Christ came into the world born in a stable.  Although I must confess that, I was never able to spend the whole night in the palm house.  I missed my bed and the nights were cold.          

It was Christmas Eve and my elder brother, Clarence and I decided to climb a tall tree to cut down a few posts to build our little Christmas house.  While my tall and on the way to becoming fat brother climbed the tree I stood at the bottom of the tree to point out which of the best limbs to cut.  Suddenly I heard a loud “crack.” Then before my horrified eyes, Clarence came crashing down from the tree landing on a pointed tree stump with a loud “thump”.  That then punctured his right thigh.

    Bravely he held on to his thigh and told me not to cry. Quickly he ripped his shirt off and told me to tie a tourniquet above the wound. How that taught came to him, I would never know.  I scampered home screaming for help.  What a courageous big brother Clarence was. Lucky for us my parents were home, they rushed him to the Hospital.  “Oh! For the love of parents what would kids do?”

 I remember Christmas. 
          Attached link to Remember Christmas in eBook format at Barnes &Noble.Com. Art attached Butterfly Flower on sale now for $100.00.

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REMEMBER CHRISTMAS CHAPTER 1

I remember Christmas, when as a little boy I sat Under the Christmas tree and gazed at all the toys that Santa had brought for my brother and I.  Me saying aloud “Santa must be a very good man”.

Those words brought tears of joy to my grandfather’s eyes.  At that age I had no Idea that he was one of Santa’s great helpers, who brought all those wonderful gifts that were, adorned the bottom of our Christmas tree.  The essence of Christmas, giving gifts of love.

I remember Christmas. 

Remember Christmas is also available in eBook format at  Barnes and Noble .com. You may contact me for art shown on my blog, however paintings featured in Remember Christmas are not for sale. Amaryllis is on sale for $75.00. Attached links to Remember Christmas and my daughter magazine Spoken Black Girl.

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