178th Street @ Crotona Parkway

18"x24" charcoal on Illustration board

It was a warm sunny day in The Bronx. A casual visit to my paternal grandmother’s house, “Grandma Red”. 

“Grandpuba”, her son would always park directly in front of her building or as near to her building as possible. We entered the lobby, walked up one flight and knocked on her apartment door. When there was no answer, we realize she must be at the park across the street, of course, on a nice day like this! Once we cross the street to Crotona Park, we spotted her immediately. She was hard to miss, wearing a pink stretch jersey summer dress and her fiery red hair was almost the same tint as the cranberry juice that she was sharing with a friend on the park bench.

Everyone in the neighborhood called her “Red” because of her fair complexion. I asked her if I could call her “Grandma Red” when I was a little girl because I thought that it was cool that she was a natural redhead. She was a gregarious soul who could talk to anyone. Small talk, chit chat, or deep conversations it didn’t matter. Good conversations, particularly outside, was a bonus! While she had a diverse group of friends, a few of them looked like misfits or bums. Never judge a book by its cover! Those are ones that always had her “back” on Crotona Avenue. She always was able to carry herself strong. She was always one of “the boys”. No one messed with her.