Tammy Lockamy
Y’all, let me tell you my story!When I wuz born, I wuz given the name Gertrude Ida Rollins, but as I grew, folks be callin’ me Ms. Gertie. I wuz born in Mobile, Alabama, in the year eighteen eighty-eight. Yes, that’s a long time ago for most of y’all, but I think it’s good to be learnin’ ’bout the history that came before you were born. The days of slavery wuz twenty years in the past, but for most folks of color, not much had changed in terms of treatment by wealthy plantation owners here in the Deep South.My story is gonna take you on a journey through my experiences from when I wuz a small child up to when I became a young woman. I’ll be sharin’ with y’all the trials I faced for bein’ colored, which always set my little heart to racing, but I’ll also tell y’all ’bout the joys I wuz to know through singin’, which is somethin’ I’ve always loved to do since I wuz real small. My love for singin’ began when I be usin’ my boomin’ voice to sing out the ol’ southern gospels in my Granddaddy Isaiah’s church every Sunday. That’s right, Ms. Gertie’s gonna take y’all to church, cuz it’s one of my favorite places to be.Y’all will also be meetin’ three amazingly strong women, which be my Mama Cecilia, Granny Mabel, and her best friend Mama Hall. They were all highly responsible for shapin’ my life in a very profound way. Specially when it came to sharin’ their secret family recipes so’s I could learn to cook which I’ve loved to do since I wuz small, and teachin’ me ’bout becomin’ a woman; which wuz a time in my life that I found real awkward and highly confusin.’Throughout my life, I wuz also to learn that within the same family, which is the Sellers, you could witness evil and hate, or love and respect, dependin’ on the family member that you encountered. Be sure to pay close attention, cuz der will also be a mystery of sorts that involves ol’ Mister Joe, the evil overseer whom everyone greatly despised. I know you’ll be wantin’ to figure things out; but it’s one mystery I neva found me an answer to yet.For those that be lovin’ ’em a love story, I’ll be throwin’ in a little romance down the way, but I’m savin’ that for later, cuz that be a real special part of my story.I can tell you this: I like to talk in a loud boomin’ voice, so don’t be afraid none if’n I get excited from time to time with the tellin’ of my story. All I can say for now is that der is gonna be situations that make you bust out laughin’, then cryin’ cuz you’re feelin’ sad, and other parts of the story that will have you scratchin’ your head in wonder.I just sat down on my front porch; I’m in my favorite rockin’ chair with a cup of hot black coffee, and I’m ready to do some story-tellin ’. So, grab you a nice cold glass of sweet tea or lemonade if’n that’s what you prefer, sit on back, and let me tell you my story. You can trust that I know how to tell y’all a good story; I’ve been tellin’ stories my whole life, and if’n I do say so myself, my story be a real good one! 6
