Carlotta Young and Bessie Goldman

00:02 Carlotta, young age 57.

00:07 Today's date is May 20th, 2021 and we are in Baltimore, Maryland.

00:16 And I'm interviewing today Bessie Coleman, who is a bookmobile patron, at Enoch Pratt Free Library.

00:26 Hi, I'm Bessie Goldman. I was born March 5th, 1925.

00:35 Baltimore, Maryland.

00:39 And good morning everyone. My name is Carlotta young. I am the mobile services supervisor for Enoch Pratt Free Library here in Baltimore, Maryland, and I have the pleasure of talking with Miss Bessie, Goldman. Who is a longtime bookmobile Patron. She's been coming out to the bookmobile for over 20 years and it's just a delightful person to get to know.

01:09 One of the things I wanted to ask you about the soul, man, as you've been coming to the bookmobile for 20 years, over 20 years, and you've been checking out Library. You take back to read and share with your neighbors. What has spurred Your Love of reading.

01:29 I've been reading since I've been a young girl. I just love it. I feel like it takes me into it, just takes me into another world. And I've learned so many things. In fact, I'm really jealous of the authors of the writers because they can speak so much joy in this world so much pleasure.

01:58 And I just appreciate all that.

02:03 And also, I have so many friends that feel the same way. We can't walk without a fucking their hand. Wherever we go. We have a shopping bag. We take a book with us, so that in case we go to a doctor's office or anywhere and we have to sit and wait, we always have a book to take out of that shopping bags and deal. We all feel that way. Do you have a favorite author that you like? Well, I have one like, romantic novels and one of my favorites is Debbie Macomber.

02:42 Her writing just put you into a homely atmosphere and I just, and I like a lot of other offers, but she is one of my favorites that I sent her a letter at one time, to tell her how I felt about the writing and she in turn, sent me a return letter. That was wonderful.

03:08 I just appreciate all the writers, really, they go through so much. Sometimes it takes them years to research.

03:18 All the work and then it takes us two or three days to read the book. So so anyway, I admire and that's the way the world is instruction in her book. Sometimes she does but most of her stories about people that recipes bright and beautiful romantic stories. That's why I like it like yes. Yes, absolutely.

04:18 Or is that usually comes to your apartment building on Thursday? And you always say to me Carlotta, I have to go because I have to go to my job. So what is that experience? Been like, for you originally from China and I learnt my young daughter 11 two, daughters one 11113. They used to babysit for my neighbor and my neighbor told them, ask them how to play me and I taught a lot of my friends and

05:18 We always got together and we have to play with four or five and we take turns going to each other's houses. We sometimes we bring our lunch, shouldn't eat socialize and I've been doing this for over 60 years while

05:39 And of course, we don't have the same ladies, but we seem to get new ladies all the time and it's wonderful, keep your mind. Right? Right, and it's way too fit and find out how people are doing to catch up on neighborhood and ball playing Masha, and I think that's wonderful.

06:07 And I don't need that, we may have children and grandchildren. We discuss it with a lot of us. We invite each other to the children's weddings, whatever, important occasions arise. We invite each other. We're just like family. We really are recording this in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. Have you always lived in Baltimore? I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Sinai Hospital might even Street, okay.

06:46 And my mother once told me that when they brought me in and had a little bit of hair and the nurses, put a little ribbon in my hair. I have three brothers.

07:01 Unfortunately, one brother was about a year older than me and at that time we had a serious epidemic. I'm not. And as we were talking earlier, I was telling you, I never heard of that. I've never heard of it was it was just terrible. There were no. No medication and thank goodness. The scientist came up with something and I believe Siri is now like damn right? You don't eat up here too much. Now what? What what how do they treat people for diphtheria? Or what? Did they think? Would help then?

08:01 I really don't remember. Okay, okay, for you, for not only you, but you're very heartbroken, in fact, and she never stopped crying for that little boy.

08:23 Let's show.

08:26 Sally's epidemic, people should go and get their vaccines. Right? And we are unfortunately covid-19 pandemic. We've been going through this for about almost a year-and-a-half. And what if that's been like for you, what it what what is been your experience dealing with and how? Well it's, it's really has been terrible. Terrible. We had to give up on our social life.

09:11 A lot of the members lot of people on, you got the covid-19 with covid.

09:20 I had lots of lots of people that I know got the covid-19 goodness. They got over it and

09:32 It just was awful. We were confined to that. I couldn't go out to my shopping.

09:40 Up, everything was on, hold right, friends and family. And now, I feel like I'm since I got my vaccine shots. I feel like I've been let out of it. I do my own marketing and it just feels great. It's I think it's anything dealing with the pandemic has taught us how much we just for unification for friendship. We were locked away for several months and was advised that a lot of people stay in their houses. Of course, a lot of us are wearing now still even though

10:36 Things are starting to open up. Businesses are starting to open up, Uber starting to open up as well. We still have some places outdoor places that are mandating wear masks as well. Also, one of the things that we do that. Now we're dealing with the cicadas and we were talking about that earlier. Cicadas come every 17 years. And in the midst of them, we have cicadas, every we're starting to see them flying around. You told a great story about working in the school cafeteria. In the young boys. Could you tell us about that?

11:36 And we used to take the children out in the program during lunch town and them was 17 years ago, and that's when the cicadas were there, and I used to have a fit because the boys used to pick them up.

11:57 And I hate to say what they did to that. It was very upsetting that you to take them and tear them apart and know that they stopped, you know, but it wasn't a nice sight to see why I can imagine you deleted picture like a

12:24 A monster flies actually 10 times as big as a fly, but they have these huge win and they make the loud noise, the guests to attract other cicadas before they have these Beady red eyes. And in the middle of the pandemic, not only want to hear that, you know, how to survive and how to conquer anything. That's that's put towards us who actually they don't bite any kind of anything.

13:25 And we can't wait till the day. They are in the grass grassy areas. And when you step on them, they're so contraction. They're harmless. They're doing what Nature has and send it every 17 years. They appear to mate, and then they go away. So we're hoping it'll go away. Covid will go away. We're getting there. Baby steps baby steps. In the same thing with Cove in is people must get their backs. I know a lot of people are a lot more scared. I don't know why.

14:24 It's a silent War, so many, many people, and that's true, but it has taken its toll and governors in Baltimore, Maryland.

14:48 Get the damn virus.

14:51 The vaccine and take the vaccine, right? I thought you were.

15:06 What you got to say? Because our governor governor Hogan is known for saying we're too damned that when I first started, right? He was encouraging a lot of the citizens wear them at right? He just he just put it out there. Where do you know that the mandates of where in the bath but it got the message home to everyone. I say this once and for all we are famous, Baltimore, Maryland.

15:58 Is famous for their Marvel sets. To let me scrub is me and finally she can stand gave me a little bucket of water and scrub brush and a rag.

16:19 I love them. Nice. Nice. Nice or not that I can remember. It's been too long ago. But all I know is

16:38 Maryland. Baltimore, Maryland is a beautiful, beautiful state. We have everything here.

16:46 Been here all my life and I don't think I ever related, we had summer, we have winter, we have spring, we can change our clothes. We don't have to wear the same type of clothes all year round, which I love, I like changing over. And then the two of us were talking about

17:13 We used to have painted.

17:16 I was at the screen that screams that was famous on Eastern Avenue, Highlandtown. And that's where they usually use a screamed. Beautiful that people used to paint beautiful sceneries on their, on their window screens. And also on the door screen storm door for a patio door, will have a section that was screened, and you're right and that wonderful show show togetherness to you order, judging the crack.

18:16 He's in business. You have to teach me how to open a crab.

18:26 Some people say,

18:38 And I'm nice and you just happy that you were born in 1925. So you must remember I'm several things in your lifetime of the depression looking through the depression. That was a little girl. Do they have pictures when you look through, the books should be pictures of the question and you see people in the number that I remember, we were standing in the NFL.

19:38 Then get my car for hours and they only gave me one. That's what they. You couldn't have gotten very far on the gala. Wow. That's amazing, but it was pretty rough and coarse and all kinds of things. But enjoyable technology of radio and you were telling me about the memories of going to school and coming home for lunch. What we are used to live close from school and I come home for lunch.

20:38 And I remember my mother giving me a nickel, and we had a corner Delicatessen store and I fell over there, and I get a cottage. And a little carton of chocolate, milk chocolate milk, then I would sit and eat my lunch and listen to the radio. They had to show that they have on TV now to watch. Listen to the show Stella, Dallas.

21:18 I think they make a movie of Stella one time in Hollywood. And I don't think they did have a movie. Now. What was it? Like, when I'm television came along that I can remember, television in advance and television was color television, but you were there. When television was actually black and white. What was that? Well, we didn't have any furniture.

21:58 At the time. But my husband and I think it was attending Barbie marriage.

22:14 We had a television in the living room. And I remember we were very friendly with my neighbors and my boy didn't put it in our living room with some of the shows that you can remember walking with your neighbors. I'm done a lot of other shows, but I can't remember.

22:56 So what are, what are some of the memories that you're proud of stuff? Well, Dixie, we used to have a JEA and we had clubs. We had like six to eight girls and we meet there and we had advisors.

23:31 We had probably 11:40 older sisters have a family or a friend. They would advise us and we get together with the boys teenagers.

23:48 The boys would also have clubs and I guess everybody remembers that your book dances and that we have some extra money and they would rent a truck and put a hay in. There we go.

24:20 And I don't know what we did, all these little things, you know, it seems like it's something that you would remember for, for your life. In fact, it was the boys club and Girls Club and they decided to come by. So we had a wonderful woman.

25:08 So, can you share with us? What are some of your funniest funniest memory that I love to do with his brother? And one day they went fishing and they were walking down a little stream on my brother-in-law. And he says, to everybody stand by. I'm going to get that fish and he picked up a big rock.

25:41 And he threw that rock. So hard. Never hit the fish.

25:58 And then another time and car parts on that parking lot.

26:13 I'll never be off.

26:24 With all of that messy place for your life, but did you dream about your life being nice? And

27:09 We met at the 14, 15 years old and I never looked like somebody took an arrow shot. It in my heart, but then and he and he was awake for years and used to come in. And do you still have those letters the letters?

27:56 But you had the memory but I do have the memories. What would you say? What advice would you give to yourself as a young woman?

28:14 Well.

28:15 I've always live by the Golden Rule.

28:20 And be kind to others and do things for others.

28:27 I am here to do that. For my mother mother. My mother would get this shirt off her shirt off for her, and not just inherited that. And I try to help as much as I can.

28:42 You are your wonderful person. I mean, I have to admit that that I am enamored with you when we first met your stove, easy to talk with and talk to you. And when you, when you meet, when I first met you, I felt like I've known you forever, you know, it was just a very friendly person and a very giving person and in very much easier to talk to one another. I really do. Thank you.

29:24 Choosing me as one of your more about you, but also for you to learn more about me.

29:43 What advice would you give the young people today? I know that the world has changed a lot in your lifetime.

29:54 What advice do? Well, the only advice I could give for the parents. When a child is born, teach them?

30:08 Not to be teaching to be cheering to love one another.

30:16 To respect one another.

30:20 And family should stay close.

30:23 Yeah, I think I'm the parents should watch over to know who the children are going with. Even even as they get older, like, you always have to watch a child, and we were talking earlier.

30:45 When years ago, it was nothing for your neighbors to be a substitute parent or you if you were sent home because you weren't feeling. Well, you knew that you could go to your neighbor if your parents were working and get the same type of care that your parents would. I think a lot of kids today don't have that. I mean, it's just there for some reason, I think that we have lost in some cases, the sense of community, we have to learn

31:34 And care for one another and care for one another. If there's too much violence and hatred.

31:44 I don't know. We just have to I don't think there's an answer. I think one of those by or buy is that I was told myself that I want to live. I want to leave the world better than when I came into the world and it just seems like we have a lot of modern technology to have the cell phone and now they have, they have pickup trucks that run by electricity and they're saying that you no more more. Car manufacturers are developing car run by electricity or cars that you don't need a driver for that. They drive themselves.

32:42 Either way back, when get it, when you're talkin about all this, modern cars in our way back. When we, we, we, we, we didn't have buses. When we went to school. We had to walk to school where you can call, or I want to drive you.

33:12 I think that.

33:17 That with all the modern technology is kind of taking us away from each other and it is. Sometimes you should have been going. The families are coming with your children. Right? Right, right there. And then

34:07 Just like talking with you about your memory than any advice that you can give to the younger generation. This time is priceless. It's not something that you can easily get back. But I agree with you. I think that when you're at the table or when you're at a community or family settings, cell phone should be off. I think a lot of the younger generation.

34:53 If you wouldn't have washer washers and dryers.

34:59 We didn't have what we didn't have all that older smarter than what you mean.

35:11 Goldman, it has been a pleasure.

35:20 Thanks again, and I'm once again, this is Carlotta young. Delightful a customer of the bookmobile who is 19 and talking about. Let's hope that people listening to this will heed your advice to care for one another one. Another we are all that we have even though we have modern technology now, nothing takes the place of being able to talk to one another.

36:20 So much. Thank you. Thank you.