All Things Are…. (Especially This)
Christmas carnival spirit in preparation for Labor Day 2022
Caribbean Life, December 10-16, 2021 31
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Each note is an individual.
You know that, but you
probably don’t hear it that
way. No, your ears are catching
a mountain stream of
notes that whisper and shout
to create your favorite song,
the one that runs through
your head, the one you know
all the words to. As in the
new book, “I’m Possible” by
Richard Antoine White, it’s
beautiful music.
Looking for his Mama was
an everyday occurrence for
Ricky White.
If she wasn’t in the boarded
up building where they
slept, she might be by the
tree, drinking. If she wasn’t
there, she might be at either
of Ricky’s grandma’s houses,
or with Miss Vivian. Then
again, Mama might be at a
store or somewhere and if he
was lucky, Ricky found a few
coins while he was looking
for her, and he’d get something
to eat that day. This
was his life, until the night he
almost froze to death and the
McClains took him in, just as
they did his Mama when she
was little.
Old enough to have grown
children of their own, the
McClains taught “Baby
Ricky” that he didn’t have
to sleep on the floor. He was
kept clean, fed, and responsible
for chores; he was taught
respect and confidence,
but also shame and empathy.
Most of all, Vivian and
Richard McClain gave him a
home and a normal childhood,
including the chance to
attend school regularly. It was
there that he first fell in love
with the trumpet.
It became his reason for
going to school, doing his
homework, and staying off
the streets. For the first time
in his life, White felt like he
belonged. He learned the art
of discipline; later, he learned
that practice was key and
improvising was never going
to get him anywhere.
By then, he’d switched
to the tuba. Learning that
instrument would give him
more time to play with a group
because not a lot of people
wanted to play the tuba.
Even fewer African Americans
did…
If ever there was a book
that can make your heart
sing, “I’m Possible” is it.
Part of the reason is that
author Richard Antoine White
seems so eager to show readers
how he lived before he was
given up by his mother, an
act that he ultimately sees as
selfless and brave. There’s no
complaint in any of this, just
facts, told with the slightest
sense of humor and a whole
lot of acknowledgment that
he wasn’t the easiest kid to
love.
And that’s the other part
here: this book is the sweetest
love song for his adoptive parents,
for music, for miracles,
and for those who supported
White all along.
So go ahead. Be charmed;
in fact, once you get toward
the end of this feel-best of
feel-good books, grab a mirror
and just look at that happy
grin on your face. You need
that kind of a boost this time
of year, or a perfect antidote
for a case of the I-Cant‘s, so
grab “I’m Possible,” and take
note.
“I’m Possible: A Story
of Survival, A Tuba, and
the Small Miracle of a
Big Dream” by Richard
Antoine White
c.2021, Flatiron Books
$27.99 / higher in
Canada
256 pages
Book cover of “I’M POSSIBLE.”
By Tangerine Clarke
The event space at 204 Parkside
Ave., in Brooklyn, was not
only festively decorated for the
holidays, also came alive with
the Caribbean spirit, on Dec.
5, when Mango Tree Productions
bandleader, Pauleen Loobie
gave masqueraders a sneakpeek
of what Labor Day on
Eastern Parkway, would look
like in 2022.
The Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
born, costume designer,
wearing a red costume mask
designed with silver tinsel,
and matched with her COVID-
19 face mask, reveled to the
sounds of carnival music, all
fired-up for the season, with
big hopes to once again vie in
the Small Band category, at the
Labor Day Parade on Eastern
Parkway.
She told this reporter, who
was also decked out in costume
mask, that with a little bit of
the past, present, and future,
she was ready to bring her
prowess as a seasoned designer,
to dazzle the judges in September
2022.
The Mango Tree Production’s
“Masked Christmas,”
mask party saw an array of
bedazzled, colorful masks, that
prospective masqueraders had
to choose from, as they too
anticipate a grand return to
mas.
The multi-award-winning
designer who started in the
business from a very young
age, is celebrating 47 years in
the business, with a drive and
determination, more than ever,
to return stronger after the
coronavirus pandemic.
“The creations will be spectacular
in scope,” said Loobie,
who is ready to take on her
competitors.
“Celebrating the culture is in
the blood. I have been designing
costumes for 47 years. The
theme commemorates from
the past to the present, going
on to the future. We will have
a wonderful, healthy carnival,
keep up the prayers for
us, because, we are not giving
up, strength is valuable,”
said Loobie, who has over the
years taken home the crown
for Junior King, Best Band of
the Year, Individual Queen, and
Band Leader in carnival competitions.
Loobie, told Caribbean Life,
she chooses to vie in the small
band category, because she is
very particular with how she
designs, noting every piece
must be neat and clean.
To connect with Pauleen
Loobie, or reserve a costume,
email: pauleenloobie@gmail.
com, or link mango productions
@instagram or call (347)
772–4843.
Mango Tree Productions bandleader Pauleen Loobie, seventh from left (red) next to Caribbean
Life’s freelancer Tangerine Clarke sixth from left, with masqueraders at “A Masked
Christmas,” event on Dec. 5, at 204 Parkside Ave. in Brooklyn. Winston Rodney
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