This Little Light of Mine: Addena’s Substack

I am here  in my bed listening to the rain and I’m wondering so many things.

I’m wondering why the sound of the rain sounds so different here than it sounds in the Carribean?   Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of rain anywhere.  I love the music the rain makes as it hits the ground, bounces on the deck, drips off the leaves of the trees, bounces on the tops of umbrellas, makes drumbeats on the sea all around you as you swim in it.  So….

Why aren’t I loving this rain?  Why isn’t this rain bringing me the usual joy the sound of rain brings?  Is it because I’m feeling down and really sad that my time in Jamaica has come to an end again for this year?

I guess by now you have guessed I’m back home from my holidays, and for a week i’m here (in bed) wondering why some people don’t cover their mouth when they cough in public or when they sneeze? . Who brought these people up?

I get really pissed off at People who don’t cover their nose or mouth when they cough or sneeze in public, but honestly, right now I’m more pissed off at myself because I haven’t been washing my hands and sanitizing and wearing my mask as faithfully as I used to.    I guess, like so many other people, I was hoping maybe this is Covid kinda over.   Oh!   If I had of known then what I know now, things might be be very different.

Let me go back……It started out with my throat feeling kinda sore and so I kept gargling with Listerine every few hours and thinking, if it doesn’t go away doing this then I’ll try gargling with salt. It seem to get better.  Whew!

The next part is the truth about of why I’m really pissed off is that I always wear a mask when we travel on the Ferry (if we aren’t on the upper deck and can’t stay in our car for the ride over from Vancouver to The Island) This time on the Ferry ride we got out of our car.   I wore my mask when we walked with the crowd from our cars to get on the elevator, wore it on the elevator up to deck 5, and on the ride back down to our car,  but we went up to the restaurant deck so,of course,I took it off to eat.

I left it off  left after I finished eating,  because we were seated we’re in a secluded area against the window wall of the Ferry with only a few people near us. There were two people sitting at a table a few rows in front of us, and one sitting at the table directly behind us,and only a few people walked by.

I first paid attention to the couples sitting in front of us, because I heard one young women comment to her young woman companion ,  “If we hadda known they didn’t check, you could’ve gotten in the trunk of the car and we wouldn’t have had to pay for you.”   I thought her comment was hilarious!   

It reminded me of when I was young and us kids went to the Drive-in Theatre and we usta sneak a few people in the trunk of the car before we drove in so we wouldn’t have to pay for everyone.

My attention went back to that couple a short time later because one of them coughed a few times, and the others sneezed a few times ( both never covered their mouth or face when they did).  I thought to myself,

Wow, there’s a good pair!    Didn’t anyone teach them to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze?

That might not have been the reason why two days later I got violently ill, but I m thinking it might’ve been.

I’ll spare you the details of my  coughing and sneezing and aching, and vomiting, and chest and back and hip pains, but bottom line I tested and the test shows:  Covid !   

I have to tell you I’m sorry that this newsletter will not be like any of the others. I don’t have the energy, but didn’t want to miss a month of publication.   I tried for a week to write an issue (when I could get up) but  my mind is really foggy  and nothing comes.   So I wanted to  at least  remind you that next month, February, is.  “Black History Month” and I will produce a Newsletter as usual.   

Please everyone, for Black History Month check your Communities for announcements and posters for Black History Month events.   Check for:  music, theater, poetry , special speakers,  TV Specials, books, and read about  everything else that’s going on.

I hope you learn some things you never learned about or knew about Black History., especially about Canadian Black History and stories.     

( me and my Dad, Walter Sumter, Sr. )

I am a Seventh Generation Black Canadian,  a little Black girl who grew up in the north end of Winnipeg In the 50’s and 60’s.

I have witnessed, experienced, and have had passed down to me from my family Elders, as well as from the Black Diasporic community, gathered stories, oral histories, and cultural wisdoms.

Many of those stories about our history have been untold, undocumented, and unexamined.

I am now one of The Keepers of those precious stories.

It is time that they are told.

Why now?

It is time to give visibility, voice, and pay the deserved respects to the many people whose lives have been invisible, and whose experiences haven’t often been afforded life.  It seems only more than right, that as an Elder, I offer with love these unique histories that I now hold, before the memories and truths of them disappear.

If you want to read some stories and poems about BlackHistory don’t forget to check out my EBooks: “Stay Black & Die”, and “ Back in The Days”

These books are also available in Print and can be ordered from my Website:  addenasumterfreitag.com

Special 15% Holiday discount and Free Shipping

until Feb 28 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’ve said it before, (trying to entice readers to buy these books) and I’ll say it once again:   Come… take the plunge!   the water’s deep!

💖💖.   

Remember,  If you see something resonates with you,

that touches you,

moves you,

or grooves you,  during this Black History month

and it’s possible for you to share it, please share it with the world.

One Love.