Grandparent lessons for elders and kids
‘Grand’ author, Dr. Charles Johnson. Crystal Riley-Brown
Caribbean Life, June 12-18, 2020 25
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
That little face holds so
much expectation.
You meet the eyes of your
grandchild, and you know you
have a big job ahead of you.
She expects you to love her
as much as she loves you, and
you do. He figures you’ll have
fun together, and you will.
They expect, quite frankly, to
be spoiled a little, and that’ll
happen, too. And with the new
book “Grand” by Charles Johnson,
a few lessons might be
taught along the way…
Some years ago, when
Charles Johnson helped design
the elegant room that would
be his home office, he had certain
things in mind. Not one of
them was that his grandson,
Emery, would take the room
as “his” office but that’s what
happened, and that’s okay. The
boy is an obvious delight.
Emery’s thoughts, his willingness
to share his world, and
his points of view make Johnson
proud; their relationship
is easy and solid. This gives
Johnson a ease of comparison
between Emory and his ancestors,
and lesson-filled stories
to tell: Emery loves books,
though reading was denied to
his forebears. At age eight, he
doesn’t have to work like his
great-granduncle did. He has
nearly unlimited opportunities,
unlike his great-grandfather.
And yet, as a Black man,
Johnson knows that there are
other lessons he needs to teach
his grandson, lessons that go
outside history and into the
future.
Be yourself, he’ll tell Emery,
and know that the world has
never seen anyone exactly like
you. Don’t chase perfection
because nothing is ever perfect.
Give dimension to your
life by finding your purpose,
take care of yourself, and care
for others. Know that you‘ll
suffer, and that others will suffer,
too. Look for beauty in life
every day, even if it lies inside
pain. Remember the “three
gatekeepers” before you speak.
Never be complacent with your
skills, never stop learning,
never stop being creative or
curious.
And know that there are
three kinds of love. If you’re
lucky, you’ll experience each
one.W
hen you found out that
you were going to be a grandparent,
do you remember how
your mind raced with all the
things you wanted to do with
your grandbaby?
Add ten more to that list
after you’ve read “Grand,” but
take a deep breath first.
Author Charles Johnson
writes with a quiet reserve
here that borders on gravity
in the lessons he has — and
that you can offer — to a
grandchild. That seriousness
is often further weighed heavily
with Buddhist teachings
and philosophy that can turn
downright sombre sometimes
and the text, though certainly
filled with love and wisdom
that ultimately leads to joy,
can feel as though it begs for a
lighter hand. Beware, too, that
these sentiments aren’t meant
for sudden talks: they’re lessons
that start early and continue
for decades.
Even so, there are lessons
here for elders as much as
for their littles and despite its
occasional excess depth, you
should easily be able to proceed
as you need. With the
right mindset and “Grand,”
you can expect good things.
“Grand: A Grandparent’s
Wisdom for a Happy
Life” by Charles Johnson
c.2020, Hanover Square
Press $19.99 / $24.99
Canada, 160 pages
Book cover of “Grand” by Charles Johnson.
Billy Frank’s virtual NOVA film fest
By Tangerine Clarke
Now in its third year, the
NOVA Frontier Film Festival
and Lab, founded by Grenadian
born filmmaker, Billy
Gerard Frank, will join forces
with The Billy Holiday Theatre
and Laurel Channel TV
to launch Nova Frontier Film
Festival 2020 (NFFF 2020) – a
unique and timely virtual edition
of innovative global film
festival, set to run from Friday,
June 12 – Sunday, June
14, in response to the COVID-
19 pandemic.
The festival, usually held
at The Billy Holiday Theatre
in Brooklyn, and showcases
and nurtures the works of
filmmakers from and around
the African Diaspora, will this
year be centered on immigration
and identity, and
will include a robust suite of
screenings and events, all free
and accessible to the public.
According to the release,
NFFF 2020, will feature a
comprehensive line-up consisting
of 17 curated long and
short-form films, from around
the African Diaspora, the
Middle East and Latin, panels
and performances designed to
create a far-reaching platform
for independent filmmakers
and artists to share their stories
and perspectives with the
world amid the current global
health crisis.
Billy Gerard Frank and
Lydia Darly of Nova Frontier
Festival said. “We are excited
to continue our partnership
with The Billie Holiday
Theatre, which has been our
home since the inception of
the festival and welcome our
new partner Laurel Channel
TV as we bring this edition
of the festival to our audiences
– and potentially new
audiences as well. We believe
that art matters, stories matter,
our filmmakers, and our
audience matter — now more
than ever.”
Frank, a multi-disciplinary
artist, and autodidact living
in New York who works at the
intersection of art, filmmaking,
design, and activism, and
whose film “Second Eulogy-
Mind the Gap” was screened
at Brooklyn Museum, last
February, added, “we hope
this online virtual space will
bring communities together
to reflect, share, and experience
our deepest humanity
and connections through
these curated global films and
discussions.”
The selected films raise
questions that force viewers to
re-examine notions of home
and family, state, nationalism,
borders, and communities.
Even the concepts and
constructs of social distancing
and self-quarantining are
echoed throughout with many
of the films depicting people
living in somewhat enforced
quarantined existences in refugee
camps, or squatting on
the edge of cities and society,
caught in the limbo of state
bureaucracies and red tape.
All of the films, part of the
Festival collectively utilize
the power of storytelling as a
tool to communicate ideological
divides and the disruption
of the status quo.