April 9th 2025

                      Memories

             Are made of dreams long gone, hurts and pains, desires and unfulfilled intentiontions,

RELECTIONS of the past, of things to come and history of that which was.

  I remember Art Blakey at the Black Hawk in San Francisco, standing outside the club

taking a smoking break during Jazz sets. Later Sonny Rollins Trio creating moods from his

improvisational melodies. I remember the Black Panthers , Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton

and Angela Davis. I remember The Congress Of Racial Equality members on a sit in at

Mels Diner ,San Francisco protesting black people not being able to eat at the lunch counter

     I remember drinking spring water from the rocks in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

I remember the pictures of Emmitt till in Jet Magazine shortly after he was brutally murdered.

  I remember my first fights as a child, getting beat up one day then winning the next.

     I marched with Cecil Moore around Girard college accompanied by Freedom Frank always wearing 

his black red and green hat that attracted attention to his cultural expression 

and Black Shirley as she proudly chose to be called, her testament to black pride.

  Rise up you beautiful nation and preserve your history. Search your memories, there

in you will find our paths to the future.

                Ronald Dove

                                             High Call Volume

   Dialing the number………….

Waiting for the Rep…………….

Recorded message……….

       We are experiencing High Call Volume and your wait time is greater than ten minutes. We have a selection of music if you wish to listen during your wait time. Jazz, Classical, or Pop or if not not you can remain on the line in silence.

      I listen to Jazz for ten minutes.

Hello Ronald!! You have reached your requested Department, in order to facilitate your call, we will ask you a few brief questions. Please answer the ones that best fit your situation. 

   What is the product you are calling about?

   What is the serial number?

   What is the problem you are having?

Three answers given.

We are sorry, but the provided serial number does not match are records.

     If you don’t mind I will put you on a brief hold for no longer than two minutes.

I wait…..

Rep. returns……

  Sir!! We have to transfer you to another department  that might best help your situation. Thank You for calling. Is there anything else we can help you with before we end this call?

   No!

Thank You Sir!

   New Department

Yes sir! How are you Today Sir?… May I help you?

   I state my problem!

Well sir this is not the right department for your problem, let me get you over to our technical support advisor. Hold on for a second.

  Technical Support.

 Yes sir can I help you.

   I state my problem.

  I’m sorry sir our policy has changed and we no longer offer that service.

  WE do have a new program, that I think might interest you.

BLah…BLAH.  BLAH!!

                                                               Prison Notes



           There is a world that exists beyond the daily consciousness of our thinking.  We are unaware of the tragedies of those who are snared by the criminal justice system. Perhaps we are persuaded to believe that no matter what happens behind bars, it's justified. What many of us do not realize is,the prisons are growing throughout the country.
   Slavery was a prison for blacks in the early years of this country's development. Blacks were in positions of servitude, not allowed to leave the plantation prison except for certain conditions approved by the master.
  The 6x9 ft. cells where citizens of the steel city live houses individuals who have great potential for change and positive readjustment. A mistake should not define a person's total character.
    The jails they inhabit is a part of an industrial complex that generates millions of dollars. It is a cash cow.
 Residents face sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse that can leave life long scars.
  According to the various reports I have read the cost of housing inmates is enormous.
 It is a bear market of rolling stock.  Depending on the area of the  country, cost can range from $28.000.00 to $40.000.00 per year.
At the high security SuperMax prisons around $60.000.00. Guantanamo prison in Cuba goes roughly $80.000.00 or more per year. These cost are at the burden of the tax payers, while profiteers make out. Those costs do not reflect the profits made from prisoners working for industries at far below slave wages. For the inmate it is a chance to leave the cell an participate in a work activity program that occupies the mind and relieves stress. Many of the incarcerated come to jail with great technical skills and  abilities . They are extremely intelligent and seek ways to stimulate their minds by playing chess, cards, checkers as well as mind games on the guards.
     The jail is a society of many diversified personalities. It is a complex world of anger and violence.
      According to reports the United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world. Approximately 2.3 million people are locked up in the United States. Many of these inmates are non violent. We have inmates behind bars for possession or selling marijuana, while it has been legalized in certain states. In one area, millions are being made from the sale of this favorite American weed. On the other hand ,we have lives being destroyed because of individuals making bad decisions. Today there is legalized selling of marijuana. All the people that I have seen selling todays marijuana are white.
       It is my opinion and understanding that most crimes that are committed in America are economic. Robbery, Burglary, Theft, Stolen Goods, Drugs, Forgery, Bribery, Hedge Funds, and various other schemes. These crimes are committed to make money. The poor are often driven by desperation. The rich are motivated by greed and power.
       Complex financial operations account for difficulty, in convicting many white collar criminals.
Back door deals, out of court settlements allow culprits to go free while the poor pay the full price.
    There is a class of criminal so shrewd and smooth that he is rarely caught. He is so successful at his profession, and makes mockery of the system. Top high powered lawyers are able to keep many of these slick operators out of jail. Those with passports and jets have a get-a-way plan second to none.
    These are the big boys, the untouchables.
        What happens when the very law designed to protect becomes criminal. How do you jail a law.



t

                                                Reflections

         
       I remember Typewriters, rotary telephones, ink pens, iceboxes, airplanes with propellers, TVs with antennas, 8 track tapes, and Kodak cameras. Computer technology was just getting started.
      The beeper was the business man's communication device. I remember Malted Milk Shakes, Ice Cream Soda Floats. I remember drag races with souped up Dodge Cars challenging Chevies, Fords and Corvettes. I remember Spring Water in Philadelphia's Fairmount park. Take a jug to a spring it get the best tasting water you ever had.

     I remember April in New York, July in Sumter South Carolina, March In Great Lakes Chicago Illinois.

I remember the Ice man, the Milk Man, The Water Melon, Man The Number Man, the Insurance man. They would all come to your house to sell their products.

          There are many events that I have forgotten, but at times my memory reminds me of the past.

As we get older, we cherish so many good memories. Some day we will all be memories in someone else mind.

    2021 will now be a memory as the New Year begins.

                                                     Norris  And Diamond Streets

   I grew up in the Norris and Diamond Street Community of North Philadelphia in the mid forties. It was  racially mixed in the early stages of white flight. It was and era of black migration.
Blacks were leaving the South and coming to the North. I lived at 1735 Fontain Street  between Norris and Diamond between 17th and 18th streets. The white people on our block smiled and acted very friendly but gradually disappeared. There was a movie theater at 20th  and Norris called the New Jewel. That's where I went to see Tarzan, Mighty Mouse, Roy Rogers,
Gene Autry, Lash Larue, and the Cisco Kid. Blacks had not yet entered the main stream of cinema other than buffoons, slaves and servants. Our heroes were real life Champions;
   Joe Louis,  Sugar Ray Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.
 Norris St. had a reputation for violence and trouble. The poorest of the poor resided in that area.
Times were hard and many people struggled to survive. I was very young and did not know about the street life, drugs and gangsters. I didn't even know that I was poor. I thought I was normal and that was the way things were suppose to be. The School I attended was within walking distance several blocks away. Our desk was attached to the seat as a 1 peace unit and contained an ink well.
  Penmanship was very important. We had to learn to form lower and upper case letters in both printing and writing.
     Franklyn D. Roosevelt was nearing the end of his term as president as the Germans were finally defeated and Adolph Hitler was deposed and committed suicide. This was 1945. Harry S. Truman
followed Roosevelt in the same year.
    During the week there would be a procession of street venders, some with horse drawn wagons.
The Iceman, watermelon man, milk man, fruit and vegitable man and of course the ice cream man with bicycle cart. On foot you had the Insurance man, the numbers man, Vacuum Cleaner man, other salesman and the mail man. The milk man left milk on your doorsteps. They were glass bottles with a head of cream at the top.
  living in a predominately black area with a few whites, I was not exposed to the harsh racism of the times. I had no knowledge of racism at such a young age of 7 or 8. There was no television no black radio stations that my parents listened to. My world was confined to school and my immediate neighborhood.
    There was a church around the corner at diamond street and page? One summer while playing with my friends these white quaker men came out to round up the kids. The chased me caught up and took me by the hand and led me into the church. I was afraid but somehow they assured me and a few of my friends that they would not harm us. They gave us cookies and milk and told us about Jesus.  We played games and sang songs in a classroom like atmosphere. They invited us to come back which we did. It was there version of vacation bible school. That church remained years after I was grown.
 The neighborhood turned completely black but that little church was still there. On the side of the building hung a sign that said ..COME TO JESUS.
     Today Temple University has spread it residential community to my old neighborhood. Students now walk the streets of my Black History.

Art By Alexis Stanley

December 1, 2017

          Artist young and old possess a gift from God that tells a story, creates an illusion, sends a message, reveals a fact and satisfies the soul. Alexis Stanley is a young artist that impresses with her ability to create. Her future is bright if she continues on her path of artistic expression.
  At 13 her possibilities are tremendous. She is supported by her mother Anita Ware a musician who expresses her art through song.
     I am always moved by Art and feel that it is extremely important to our culture. Art is all around us in one form or another. The community of artist though not related are family in the sense of the craft they share. Artist whether they be musicians, painters, writers, poets, dancers etc. are part of that family of expression.
    It will be exciting to see the progress of a young Alexis Stanley. Watch out! the impact of her art could be coming to a neighborhood near you in the near future.



   How wonderful it is to communicate with art.  Let the young ambitious talented Creators tell their story to the world. They are the future and demand to be recognized by what they have to say.
    As they grow in their craft, it will be exciting to watch their progress.
     You go !!!!  ........Alexis Stanley