April 02, 2165

Easter is always between March 22nd and April 25th .Easter was April 12th in the year 2020, the name is derived from Ēostre the real or unreal germanic goddess but the date and most modern traditions refer to Pascha which roughly translates to passover, the Jewish holiday. But, I want to focus on  Ēostre. For easter, include the real or unreal traditions attributed to Eostre, like rabbits, or make your own.You can show photos of art OR text of fiction 
 The photos can be to->sculpture/knitting or sewing/graffiti/tattoo or any craft depicting Eostra real or unreal traditions 
 The text can only be fiction based on the following: Real or unreal traditons of Eostre. Orthodox catholic easter comes a week after roman catholic easter.  
Story 1 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=892  
Story 2 https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=893  
 
STORY 1
It is April 12th 2020, Ess Mae Murard walk by her Easter painting aside her grandchildren.  

The boy ask: “I never seen that painting before”
“No you have not Hakim, it is one I did a while back but I only present it for Easter”: gently replied Ess Mae.  
“Why grandma S?”: reply a girl.  
“I was going to ask that Shaniqua!”: cut in Hakim.
“No need to shout Hakim, it was a good question anyway right?”: Grandma Ess tickle Hakim and Shaniqua, either laugh.  
Grandma Ess continue: “to answer the question you both want to know, I must go back to earlier days”. She take a photo off a desk.

“Grandpa Clay!”: reply both children in unison.  
“yes, your grandfather with me before church,1947, I was a little sad, a commission I was hoping to get was obtained by D. Scott, made me quite mad”: recall grandma Ess, and she continue: “We went to church, your grandpa Clay had to do some work in a white man’s house, So I chose to go to St. Nicholas park and sit to gather my thoughts and that is when I saw her…”: the children are attentive:“Eostre”:the children interrupt Grandma Ess.
“who is Eostre”:ask Hakim.  
“yes, please tell us grandma S”: Shanique pull on her grandmother’s arm.
Grandma Ess continue: “… hmmm, well, at first I did not know who she was and I said, nice hat, she found that amusing and seemed interested in what I had to say… I learned she was the Earth”: the children look confused and Grandma Ess continue: “well, the spirit of the Earth who once every turn around the sun makes an appearance as a human to humans”
Grandma Ess look to the children who are still confused, and smile. She continue: “think of it like this, we live on a planet, called Earth, and she is living so, she has a spirit, but her spirit is special, not like a humans, her spirit can inhabit many kinds of bodies.”
“why grandma Ess”: ask Shaniqua.  
“The earth is very old and powerful, I can not explain all in why Earth reacts the way it does in any way… but we talked about many things, and when she was done she offered me a chance to paint her”
“So that is her, the spirit of Earth”: ask Hakim.  
“hmmm rather, that is the form the spirit of Earth took”: reply Grandma Ess.  
“but why only show it during easter”: ask Shaniqua.
“well”: a car horn cut off Grandma Ess, and she speak to the matter: “you two, lets go , we can talk about it later ,lets go outside”: she take a photo.
The three leave the house and meet a woman waiting by a wall.

“come on Ma!”: speak the woman.
“coming chile, now go on you two, go to your mother”: suggest Grandma Ess, but Hakim shake his head and Shanique tighten her grip.  
“So you two want to bother your grandmother about something, alright, but just get in the car, ok”: and after the mother speak, the grandchildren usher into the car quiet and wait for grandma Ess.
…
while driving to church Grandma Ess was active on her tablet and asked the children: “you two ready to learn why that painting can’t be shown”.
“I see now what is going on”: the children’s mother smile.
“Don’t say anything mommy”: request Shaniqua.
“yeah, we want to hear it from grandma”: demand Hakim.
“ok ok, may I listen to”: ask the mother, and the children nod.
Grandma Ess smile and say: “take a look at the image on the tablet”: and she hand the tablet to the children in the back seat. Hakim plus Shaniqua look at the image.  

Grandma Ess begin to finish her story: “well… once long ago, great birds existed, these birds could be ridden like a horse. Humans lived well with adult ones but could never breed children, but it didn’t matter for they continued to be born in the wild, until one day…”: the children gasp in preparation and grandma Ess continue: “the earth changed. These birds had only one nesting ground, and it was destroyed in a great earthquake, that burned the sky so none could fly away… the humans who used these birds was very angry cause these birds was the only way they could reach some of the remote locations where they lived. They asked the Earth to make more of the birds to restart their bloodline… but the Earth refused. The humans who rode these birds, became very angry and cursed all our mother… do you have an idea why the painting can not be seen now?”
Hakim think, but shake his head. Shaniqua think and say:“ the eggs? ”
“Yes, Shaniqua”: smile Grandma Ess, Hakim cry out in agony, their mother laugh.  
“But, those little eggs in the painting are the eggs of those huge birds”
“no, but they are the map… The Eostre made a map of eggs, utilized correctly, which I will not say how, they provide a map, the painting gives clues to those who know, thus the spirit of Earth demanded I not make that publicly shown… and I have kept my promise, and as your mother has kept it , I demand you two”
Shaniqua plus Hakim smile: “yes grandma Ess”
“Ok guys, we at church your”
“Daddy!”: yell the two children in unison cutting off their mother’s instruction. The mother open the car doors and the children are out; she blow a kiss to her husband.
“You know my sweet Roe, you can make a few more eggs for me to tell my story too”: explain Grandma Ess to her daughter.  
“Momma , I am not going to be laying tons of eggs, I know you and Rick been talking and plotting, now enjoy your church, I will be back to take us all to Black Fort for lunch”: say Roe, as she watch her mother exit the car and meet up with the husband plus kids.
 
STORY 2
 
Each child from Earth is part in a community and between each perihelion the Earth must speak to each child's community at least once, per the agreement with the Sun. In the oldest swamp from Earth the human season come again, the time of Eostre, when the spirit in Earth take a humanoid form to speak to her human children. She slowly form the body deep in a swampland so thick, the morning sun seem a sunset.
It is said if you are lucky to witness the spirit of the Earth before she settles her form, the Earth will allow you to take a piece from in her. But, I myself have never been able to witness such a thing to prove it myself. 
The spirit of Earth, after forming the body, begin to walk out from the swamp to speak to the humans. She meets a hare, basking in the sunlight. The hare turn to look to her and cognize her immediately. It hop to her feet and ask:" what can I do for the earth Spirit". The Eostre ask the hare:" please take me to the human tribe". The hare bow and escort The Eostre out the swamp, out the wood and into a human roadway. A human man turn a sharp corner near the wood exit and is astonished at the figure before him. He ask The Eostre if he can take a photo of her. She nod her head. He ask her to take a look at it.
He ask her name, and she look down at the Hare, who head shake in disagreement. The man sulk off looking at the photo. 
The Eostre look down at the road and ask the hare: "how far are the humans from their.... road"
"Not far earth spirit, about ten thousand hops, but beware humans wearing odd smelling metal clumps"
And The Eostre leave the hare, at the side of the road. 
The Eostre walk and walk, observing the humans in cars going by. In the late morning, she observe a small human girl carrying eggs in one hand, picking up an egg in the other. The Eostre go over to the girl and ask: "why did you take that egg and have an egg basket?"
"Its easter": the little girl reply.
"YEs, I know but egg is meant to be cared for not, thrown about, you never know what kind of life it may bring"
The little girl stand confused or bored. The Eostre ask her to sit the egg she just found down. After the little girl did, the Eostre tap her foot once and the egg grow, and grow, wiping away decorations and a small dragon pop out.
  The little girl is very happy, even though the baby dragon tried to snap her finger off; she place the baby dragon in her egg basket. And, grab The Eostre hand and say: "Please, come home, my parents will love to meet you, my dad does magic and my mom loves dragons"
"you think it is wise for your mom to see a dragon"
"yes, lets go": and the little girl drag The Eostre to her home. The little girl ask The Eostre to notice the eggs on the table and say: "my dad made them"
The Eostre look at the eggs and smile. You know, it will be good to talk to your parents. And The Eostretime happened successfully, albeit an initial shock of nudity from the parents to the little girl.  

Event details

HAMILTON HEIGHTS and SUGAR HILL: Alexander Hamilton's Old Harlem Neighborhood Through the Centuries
by Davida Siwisa James  @DeeSiwisa
Fordham University Press: Empire State Editions
Nonfiction; 432 pages; 126 illustrations: PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2024
ISBN-13:   978-1531506148
BUYING PAGE
https://aalbc.com/books/hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-9781531506148
REFERRAL IN AALBC
https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10792-hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-book-review-request/
 
 
MY REVIEW
 
"Indeed, the average Harlemite's impression of white folk, democracy and life in general is rather bad. Naturally if you live on nice, tree lined, quiet convent avenue, even though you are colored, it would never occur to you to riot or break windows." Langston Hughes
 
Davida Siwisa James unbiased, temporally complete history book achieves three goals of equal value. One, to be as definitive a history book to the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill sections of Harlem. No single book has the length to cover the complete history of Harlem, that will demand an encyclopedia which reading this book proves. Two, to explain through the history of said regions in Harlem how Harlem has heritages of blemished grandeurs that includes all people from the Native American populace before European colonies to the time of this prose in the Gregorian year two thousand and twenty-four. Said heritages warrant preservation that can become a living example of multiracial coexistence in the USA if implemented equal to all. Three, to explain how the negativities: negative biases from whites to non-whites, negative biases from the financially wealthy of any phenotype to the financially poor of any phenotype, negative bias from New York City in ruling/governing/administering Harlem, created a constancy of: lies, malfunctions, pains that have always hindered the reach of grandeurs born in Harlem but have not stymied the potential of Harlem. Said potential of Harlem is to be the truest example of peaceful positive productive life for pan-individuals in the declaration that many in humanity cling to as a hope. Siwisa, a Harlemite, achieves all three intricate, modernly purposeful, goals.
She uses a straightforward temporal sequence, as chapters, from the time of the Lenape, long gone outside name places, to the time of New York City's first Black Mayor, Harlemite David Dinkins. Unlike most historians, who try to provide a history to a place from its past to modernity, she was able to communicate with residents long gone or residents relatively new, while including her own life, to support the temporal width of her work. Reading this book, you can tell Siwisa loves Harlem but isn't willing to accept a great memory. She wants to fight against the literary plus nonliterary challenges the region has to live with. 
I, a Harlemite, was unaware that Harlem was to be named Lancaster by the British empire on winning New Amsterdam and turning it into New York. But from the time of New Amsterdam onward, which the book conveys through Harlemites  named Hamilton/Jumel/Deforest/Hughes/Williams/Powell jr./Spollen, the region has constantly been a chess piece for New York City and a harbor for the heart of New York City's culture of integration. If you don't know about Harlem, this book is a great starting point for it will create a proper framework to comprehending the region which has, sadly, a heritage of being mislabeled or mis-defined or misrepresented, even when mostly white before the New Negro Movement. If you know about Harlem, you already know Harlem has a vast history, that involves the entire racial landscape of the USA. But you will learn many new things about Harlem through the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill regions, which are the main subject of the book. 
The entire history in the book is supported evenly by photographic or illustrative evidence, which is mandatory in modern times while also serving as undeniable proof for naysayers to Harlem's various periods of grandeur in its history. Harlem's history is as bright as the light off the skyscrapers to its south, while the perception of it is plagued by a shadow that was and is constructed or maintained by those in or out of Harlem. Let this book take down the blinds page by page. 

Event details