Papa and Arielle

00:00 My name is Arielle Urquhart. I'm ten years old, and today is Friday, November 11, and I'm singing with my grandpa, and I'm recording an interview in Georgia, in Norcross. So the first question is, who were your grandparents, and can you tell me about them?

00:23 Well, I must say this, Arielle that I never knew none of my grandfathers. You know, they died before I was born, but I do know both of my grandmothers. Okay. Who are now deceased. My grandmother's, let me say, my maternal grandmother, that's my mother's mother, or name was Gladys Moore, and she lived in Guyana, South America, in a village named Port Royne village. I also grew up in Port Lloyd village, and that's where I spent much of my formative years with my maternal grandmother. My paternal grandmother, that's my father's mother. Her name was Millicenthouse Messiah. Millicent Messiah. And she lived maybe, I don't know, maybe a quarter mile from my maternal grandmother. Okay. She also lived in Fort Rhine village, West Bank, Demerara, Guyana. She's, like I said before, she's now deceased. So both of my grandmothers are now dead, but I didn't. Never knew my grandfather.

01:45 Wow, that's crazy. Insane. But, yeah. The next question is, do you know the story, how our family first came.

01:58 To this country, to the United States? Yes, that's a very good question, Arielle My. But I came to the US. Okay. Years ago. I lived firstly in New York. I lived in Brooklyn, New York, for one year. Then I migrated to New Jersey. And in New Jersey, I met your grandmother, who you know as mamma. I met Neme in New Jersey, and we got married in New Jersey. As a result of our marriage, your mother was born Shakira. Okay. And then, I think it was in 1999, we migrated from New Jersey to Atlanta, Georgia. Okay. And that's where you were born, in Atlanta, Georgia.

02:54 Okay.

02:56 And this is where we all live, you know, now separately, but we still love each other. Okay.

03:03 Yes. Okay. The next question is, can you tell me more about your childhood? And do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you, the toys or stories?

03:18 Stories. Okay. What was the first question again?

03:22 Can you tell me more about your childhood?

03:24 Okay, my childhood. I was born in Guyana, South America. At that time, when I was born, Guyana was known as British Guyana because we were a colony of the United Kingdom. We became independent from England in 1966, and we dropped the name British, and now it's just Guyana. I was born in Georgetown, Guyana. Georgetown is the capital of Guyana. That's where I was born. And then I moved to Fort Rhoyne village, and I stayed there for a very long time with both of my grandmothers, my dad's mom and my mom's mom. Later in life, when my mom and dad got divorced, I came to the United States, and this is where I live right now in the US, specifically in Atlanta, Georgia. During my childhood in Guyana, I had many friends. We played cricket and football and tennis and so forth. I had a wonderful life in Guyana, you know, meeting new people, meeting many of my family members, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. And we lived as a strong family unit. You know, we depended on each other, we supported each other. And it was very sad when I had to leave Guyana to come to United States. But while I was there, I really enjoyed my childhood living with my both of my grandmothers. You know, they cooked delicious food for me. I always enjoyed their cooking. They would take me to various places of Guyana to meet other family members. So I was able to learn a lot of our history, and I really, really enjoyed meeting more of my family members, making new friends, and so forth. So I really enjoyed that.

05:35 That's nice. Okay, the next question is, do you remember any songs that we used to sing to your children? Can you sing them now?

05:47 Oh, that's a very embarrassing question, Arielle You put me on a spot right now. I will try. I will try. But I must say this, that the songs that I remember as a child, you know, were songs that were sung by guyanese singers, you know? So there was one that I remember very well. It says, show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are. Show me your friends, and I will tell you where to go. You can go to Barbados or Jamaica or Trinidad, but I prefer to stay right here in Guyana. And you are laughing at my song. You're not supposed to laugh at my song. You're supposed to say, congratulations, papa. I like that song. But that was a very favorite song that I enjoyed singing.

06:45 That's nice. Next question is, how did you meet my mom? I mean, my grandma.

06:54 How did I meet your grandma? Well, I remember very well how I met her. I was on my way, like I said, you know, I lived in New Jersey. Okay? And one day, I was going to New York on the train. There was a path to the train. I was traveling to New York on the train, and I saw this very pretty young lady and an older woman. So I started to talk to her. I started the conversation, and then she said, well, where are you from? I said, I'm from Guyana, and I live in New Jersey. And then I spoke to her mother, and I asked her, mother, where are you from, ma'am? And she said that she's from Liberia, West Africa, you know. And I became very interested because history has always been a very favorite topic of mine. So I started to talk to your great grandma. Okay. And your mama. We started a conversation, and then your member said to me, hey, excuse me, sir, can I have your phone number now? Just kidding. But we exchanged numbers. We exchanged numbers, and I asked her for her number, and reluctantly, she gave me her number. And then when I got back to new. I couldn't wait to go back to New Jersey and call her. When I got back to New Jersey, I gave her a call, and we started a very wonderful friendship.

08:35 Okay. Are there any traditions that have been passed down in your family? Can you tell me about them?

08:44 Traditions? Yeah. I would say that one of the traditions that has passed down is the tradition of maybe cooking. You know, I remember, you know, speaking to your mama, and she would tell me of the foods that her mother introduced her to, foods like jollof rice and palm butter, cassava leaves, and so forth. And then she asked me, well, what about you, Keith? What about some of the foods that you eat in Guyana? And I told her about cooker Price and pepper pot. Pepper pot is a very famous dish that we make at Christmas time in Guyana. Cook up rice. It's similar to jollof rice in a way, not too similar, but, you know, it's rice and different meats that we combine in the pot and so forth. Another tradition that has been passed down is going to west indian parties. I remember, you know, taking your memo to west indian parties, and she began to enjoy the music, like calypso and reggae and soca, you know. And we also enjoyed going to parties. I went to a few african parties, which I remember, you know, so I would say the music, the food, you know, the family gatherings and so forth, those are probably three of the more important cultural aspects that I believe has been passed down from generation to generation.

10:15 Okay, that's next. This is the last question. Who were your favorite relatives, and can you describe what they look like, and do you remember any stories that they used to tell you?

10:31 Yeah, I would say that in terms of favorite relatives, I remember my uncle Kenneth. Uncle Kenneth, he's now deceased, but that was one of my father's brothers, and he loved me, and I loved him, and he would take me places, you know, take me shopping. I couldn't wait for Christmas time to come. Uncle Kennedy would take me all over Guyana, buy me toys, buy me, you know, clothes and so forth. And he would always say to me, you know, Keith you are my favorite nephew. And I would say to him, I'm Kenneth. I appreciate that, because you are my favorite uncle. And some stories that I remember that he would talk about, you know, he liked a lot of, you know, history, historical facts. He liked wild animals, and he would tell me stories about wild animals in Africa and India and so forth. He would read books to me about, you know, hunters who would go, like, to Africa, India, and try to, you know, kill lions and tigers and so forth. And I found those stories to be so fascinating and so interesting. He would take me to the movies, like, to watch Tarzan movies and so forth. And my uncle Kenneth got me interested in wild animals and looking to tell me stories about an african safari, about the tigers in India. And I found those stories to be so real and so interesting. And when my uncle Kenneth died, I was so, so sad, because I miss him, you know, telling me those stories. I miss his hugs. I miss him, you know, buying things to me, even though I was an adult at that time, and I was no longer interested, you know, in toyshe but the memories were still there. Easter time, you know, we used to go flying kites. Like I said, christmas time. He would take me shopping and so forth. So I really, really miss my uncle Kenneth. As a matter of fact, I was in London, England, a few weeks ago, and I was spending time with my mom, who is your great grandmother, and she asked me about, you know, family members who I missed and so forth, who have passed away, and the family member who came to my mind first and foremost was Paul, Kenneth, and me. Mama. We took a lot of time talking about him, you know, and it was so sad. Tears came to my eyes, you know, speaking about my uncle Kenneth, so I really, really miss him.

13:18 That's sad when people die, because I never really remembered any memories with my grandmother's mom. So I know what it feels like.

13:32 To lose someone, right? Especially a family member, you know, and especially a family member who's been close to you throughout the years. When they die, you miss them, and you feel safe, you know? But. But let me tell you what is important is that when you have a family member, let's say a very close family member, who dies, you miss them, okay? But the fact that I'm still alive and you, Arielle you're still alive, and your mommy is still alive, and your daddy is still alive, and your mama is still life that takes away from the pain of those who lost, you know, through death. So you have to concentrate on the family members that are still living and those who love you. And you love them, too. Okay.

14:30 Well, that was the end of the interview. Yeah.

14:37 Well, let me say this. You know, I am so sorry that the interview is over, because I'm just enjoying.