Sickly, she said, “Have a good time while y’all here.” Ah, I missed my hometown. My birthplace. The South Bronx, New York. Many in my family are still there. Way across country from me! This shot was a few blocks from my hotel. I went to see my grandmother in December of 2004. I hadn’t been back home in 12 years but I had to go see her. She was in her eighties, sick and about to pass. She got to see my wife and grandson for the first time. It’s a shame I didn’t go back earlier.
When I went to the hospital to see her, sad to say, she was so excited to see me that she started losing her breath and I was afraid she was gonna die then. Ah, but not grandma, she was a strong woman of God and heard that my family and I were comin’ all the way from Los Angeles to see her. She had to stick around just a bit longer. LOL, grandma smiled and did a 360! She seemed better! She tried to get up out of that Bronx hospital bed. She wanted to cook for us. No, no, no….they lay her back down.
It was so so good to see her after all those years. She felt my pregnant wife’s stomach and “blessed” our baby. I could tell. We left from our two week reunion back to Hollywood. She died a month later.
I didn’t go to the funeral. I wanted to see her while she was alive and they all had to honor that.
Photo: Grandma told me…
Location: New York City, New York
©ShavarRossPhotography.com
