From Rum Boogie to Ringside
I had a very interesting relationship with my Grandma. She was very worldly. She was known to spend time in the neighborhood lounges, such as the Rum Boogie. I don’t ever remember her working, but I knew she was a hairdresser. She was always shopping and getting money from the bank. Her closet was full of clothes and shoes with the tags still on them.
I remember her and my Grandpa loved to travel together. They would go to Vegas and New York every year. They loved to shop and go to lounges in the big cities. She also loved to gossip. She was always talking about people and their shortcomings which probably had a lot to do with her doing hair and entertaining her clients. She functioned in a world of appearances, and I was just not interested in any of it. I was always slipping out of her shadow because I wanted to be outside playing. She never thought that was a good idea and would often try to keep me from playing with the boys.
I remember once when I was very young, between 6 and 8, I was outside of her house playing marbles. I really loved those cat eye marbles with blue coloring. All of a sudden, we heard a loud sound, and my forehead began to hurt very badly. I was in excruciating pain. I had been hit in the head with a BB Gun pellet. One of the kids from down the street was firing at some stray cats, and the pellet made it all the way to me. Needless to say, my Grandma was not happy. She found that kid and his family and made him come and apologize. I rubbed my head a few times and escaped her shadow to get back to the marble circle. I had to win some cat eye marbles that day.
Even though my Grandma would give me a hard time and constantly let me know my brother was her favorite, she would still choose to defend me. She definitely had a lot of fight in her. I never saw her back down from anyone or anything. One thing that we always did was watch and listen to prize fights. We would get together as family and watch Muhammad Ali whenever he was on the television. It seemed like we never missed a fight. This is one thing that I enjoyed doing with them. This led to one of the best moments I ever had with her.
It was the fall of 1978. The city was electric. Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks would be fighting their second fight in New Orleans. It was warm and humid with highs in the lower 90’s and one thing my Grandma was going to do was make her way Downtown to be a part of the action. This day, she would bring her Grandkids along for the adventure.
Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks were in town and were seen moving around downtown to get fight ready and just be among the people in the city. My Grandma, with my brother and I in tow, caught a cab downtown to where the fighters would be sparring. My Grandma insisted on getting a glimpse of one of the fighters. I wasn’t quite sure of what was happening, but I was a major Ali fan, and I knew he was in town. We were there with a ton of other onlookers and there was a lot of buzz in the air.
My brother and I were like miniature people stuck in the shadows trying to look over the waists of the adults that had formed a crowd. Everyone was trying to get up close. All at once, the crowd noise began to rise in anticipation of a glimpse of a heavy weight champion. Then, suddenly, Leon Spinks emerged through the double doors surrounded by a tunnel of handlers. His broken smile wide in appreciation of all the onlookers around.
My Grandma began to inch forward and pushed us to the front of the line so that we could get a real close look. She made it all the way up to where she could put her hand on his shoulder and make him recognize that he had seen her Grandkids. I relished in the adoration that everyone was showing him. Spinks was someone who had reached the pinnacle of his career. He wasn’t Ali but he was still a Champion. I never forgot that moment in history. My Grandma again had come through in her own way. This time her shadow would prove to be a place of adventure and reminder of her resilience.