I’ll just call her Aunty, and there we were, two people from drastically different backgrounds, sitting together in her living room. Around us walls filled with a mix of photographs, recognitions, tribal masks and musical instruments that symbolically told of African roots and her 81 years of life as a black American…

The post Episode 19: The Train To Sankofa first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

The echoes of snores and other embarrassing body sounds bounced off the granite walls, as all around me hundreds of families huddled into makeshift homesteads. The clock struck 12:03 am, and with the second announcement of what seemed a boarding school inspired lights out, I wiggled to find any comfortable sleeping position. A sadly impossible ... Read more

The post Episode 18: Echoes Of Her Footprint first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

On the front of the stack an 80-year-old picture of a little boy told me of her roots

The post Episode 17: Monument first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

Rikki was her name,and in reviewing her narration, it seemed she tapped into a most personal and intimidating question: WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?

The post Episode 16: Invisible Impressions first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

And until that night, he was a stranger to me. An unknown shadow under a flickering streetlamp just outside a neighborhood haunt called Casey’s Tavern…

The post Episode 15: The Student Of Paz first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

An unnamed storekeep calmed the storm of Covid frightened people.

The post Episode 14: Ripples first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

 My projection of a Monster in our midst.

The post Episode 13: Of What’s To Come first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

Her voice heavy with French accent she told me of a father who was very negative, and a dad who worried about everything.

The post Episode 12: A Guide To All That Is Good first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

Her name was Stephanie, and, in releasing the words that originally polarized me from her, I found the heart of a Doll…

The post Episode 11: The Doll of Melrose first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.

Extroverted and strongly opinionated he was. The kind of guy many would call intimidating, aggressive, or for some, maybe even annoying. But as he dropped his salesman pitch, he exposed a softer underbelly.

The post Episode 10: Epitaph first appeared on Sidewalk Ghosts by Richard Radstone.