“My grandfather owned a bakery at Beale and Third, where the Rum Boogie Café is now. You know how they used to put names on the buildings in cement? You can look over the doorway there now and see his last name, Bensieck. That’s where he had his bakery. His son was my daddy. When I was five years old, Mother and Daddy bought a house close to Immaculate Conception Cathedral so my brother and I could walk down the street to the school there. I’ve lived in that same house for 80 years. I never got married, and Mother and Daddy left the house to me when they died. Thank goodness they did, because I never made a lot of money and I would have had a hard time paying rent. To me, a paid-for house is a wonderful thing. I know so many people who don’t have a roof over their head, but I’ve never had to worry about that. I just feel real fortunate.
“I believe that now is the happiest time of my life. I’m content. I don’t want for anything. I don’t have a lot, but when you get older, when you’re 85 years old, you just don’t need the things you needed when you were younger. You don’t want the same things. Things that used to mean something to you don’t mean a thing anymore. It’s really just people when you get older --- that’s what means something.”
“I believe that now is the happiest time of my life. I’m content. I don’t want for anything. I don’t have a lot, but when you get older, when you’re 85 years old, you just don’t need the things you needed when you were younger. You don’t want the same things. Things that used to mean something to you don’t mean a thing anymore. It’s really just people when you get older --- that’s what means something.”
Wezi's grandfather's bakery was located at Beale and Third:
RSS Feed