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- What a fellowship!
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- Judah Bruce Leblang
"What a Fellowship" is a humorous piece about a relationship that crosses lines of race, ethnicity and religion. This true story examines the writer's experience at a memorial service for his godmother's son, and the various situations that rise out of that experience, at a storefront Baptist church in Cleveland, Ohio.
Despite surface differences, the ultimate thread that holds the piece together is the love and respect the writer feels for 'Donna' the matriarch and centerpiece of the story.
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Piece Description
"What a Fellowship" is a humorous piece about a relationship that crosses lines of race, ethnicity and religion. This true story examines the writer's experience at a memorial service for his godmother's son, and the various situations that rise out of that experience, at a storefront Baptist church in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite surface differences, the ultimate thread that holds the piece together is the love and respect the writer feels for 'Donna' the matriarch and centerpiece of the story.
Broadcast History
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Transcript
What a Fellowship: radio version
By Judah Leblang/2004
Word count:1170
In August of 1997, I made a special visit back to Cleveland to represent my family at a memorial service for my godmother Donna?s son Lonnie, who had died two years earlier.
The day before the big event, Donna asked me to say a few words at the service. Though I didn?t know Lonnie well, I could speak of knowing Donna, who had worked for my family as a ?cleaning lady? from the time I was 8 until I was pushing 40. So, I told her I?d think of something to say if it would please her. She nodded and said that it would and I started to sweat?heavily.
But I could hardly have said ?no.? I knew that Lonnie was Donna?s treasure, a boy she?d raised into a man during the hard years of the depression and World War II, when opportunities for black women ranged between slim and none. After Lonnie?s sudden death from a he...
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Will Cervarich
Posted on February 02, 2005 at 11:30 AM | Permalink
Review of What a fellowship!
"What A Fellowship" is a touching piece that highlights a couple of moments of dedication in a long-standing relationship between a man and his second mother. The speaker's voice is pleasant to listen to--one enjoys his comfort in telling the story, his manner of speaking, and his descriptions that are insightful as well as earnest. The speaker does not over reach trying to make the story something it's not, a trait that I appreciated. The piece would be well suited for a story-telling program or a spoken-word program.