1/14/14 RMB Moms Mabley
Dear Rita Mae
Brown,
Tonight I
learned about Moms Mabley via the special Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley.
I saw bits of it at Carol’s when I visited. She recorded it for me to watch
later with my nephew trio. She remembers her, like I remember listening to Bill
Cosby on vinyl. And now technology allows us to watch a video on YouTube that
was originally recorded sixty years ago. Nice.
In an
interview Whoopi told an African-American female reporter that Moms did what
she did so that “you could do what you do”. What did she do? She made people
laugh while prompting them to think, not an easy task. She was her own woman,
out and proud, female and black, entertaining audiences from the 1920’s to the
1970’s, not an easy task at all.
Further
research reveals that Clarice Taylor, an actress known for playing Bill Cosby’s
mom in the The Cosby Show, produced and starred in the live show Moms in the
80’s.
Remembering
is good. Every generation has firsts and greats and those who travelled paths
far more difficult than some of us will ever see. I am humbly thankful to them
and to those who help us to remember them.
As we deal
with our daily trials, we learn to live in the present. “This moment, this very
instant, is the most important one.” I tell my nephews, and “Do you know why?
Because this is where we put to use all that we have learned from the past and
it is this moment that will shape our future. We must give it our best.”
Focus and
clarity of our own potential, fed by history’s insights and dreams of
possibilities, edge us towards brighter days.
Cheers,
Loraine
