I Called Him Morgan Page #4

came from his youth.

In Search for the New Land,

he was actually digging back

into his roots in history.

And what could be

achieved with freedom.

I wish the world

was like this.

I wish--when we did record,

there was always

the thought that

this is going to be forever.

What we choose is

going to be forever.

[Helen] My apartment

was that open house.

Was always beans cooking,

always cooked, from to dinner.

You eat, "go by Helen's house."

My house at 53rd Street

was the place.

[Al] The first time I met

my mother, I was 21.

I went to her house,

to her apartment.

And strange enough,

when I knocked on the door,

she said "Come in."

And the door was

open, not locked,

and I went in.

And there was three women

at the table.

And I immediately

recognized Helen,

first time ever

seeing her, because...

I guess you could say

the family resemblance to her.

And we greeted each other.

And here she is, 35 or

something like that.

And, wow, you know.

"That means that you was 13

when I was born."

It didn't take long for me

to latch on to her,

because she was

quite interesting.

She worked at

an answering service.

And they was pulling and

pushing cords in order

to make connections.

It was a means of

making it in New York.

And being a woman,

being a black woman,

there wasn't a whole

lot of jobs for you.

[Ron] Everyone knew Helen

because she could cook.

And I used to go by

and a lot of the musicians

would be there.

She would always say,

"Listen, if you're ever

in my neighborhood, stop by.

I like to cook."

And they would say, "Okay,

I'm in her neighborhood.

Let's see what

she cooked today."

Helen would say,

"Are you hungry?"

And you said, "Nah,

just, you know, maybe

a little snack or something."

She say, "I'm gonna

fix you somethin'."

She'd be out in the kitchen,

doing a roast pork or a turkey.

And you're like, "Whoa,

this is going to be great!"

And when she put

the food on the table,

she might have a pie

or a cake or something.

This is within an hour or two.

Two this woman was fantastic

when it came to the kitchen.

[jazz music playing]

She always had

some good music playin',

I remember that.

Always good jazz music playing.

I remember once, a party.

I mean, it was a small place,

but people from

all walks of life.

Most of her friends

was gay or lesbian or--

"People are people,"

she'd say.

[Ron] I remember this.

Helen was washing up some

dishes from a great meal

that we all had had.

And I had my camera with me.

And I said, "Can I

take your picture?"

She said, "No, I

don't like pictures."

She wouldn't let people

take pictures of her.

But I wanted to get

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