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I noticed that Mama got a sympathy card from Mr. Gershwin. I didn't see him at the funeral, but then he didn't really know me, did he?
Then I saw George Gershwin once again, alone without Ira. It was the high point of my life; I was probably too enthralled to know if I was in love with him at the time, too flighty, too young. I know now though. "Oh, no, Mr. Gershwin, let me bring you some coffee," I said that fine December afternoon. "George, call me George, Julia. Mr. Gershwin makes me feel like I'm getting old. Here, let me pour you a cup." He got up from the piano, went over to a silver urn, and drew me a coffee in a small white cup. "Cream or sugar?" he asked. "Just cream," I replied my voice shaking a little. I couldn't help but feel nervous around George Gershwin. He was just about the most famous person in New York. I couldn't believe that my little black self was actually going to sing in front of him. Really, it was a kind of pre-audition to see if he felt my voice was suitable for his music. He had told me at Jakes, that he needed to listen to me sing some more. The idea was that he and Ira might use me in one of his shows if I panned out. He brought me the coffee and set it on the little round lamp table where I sat. The truth of the matter though was that I was too scared to touch that coffee, what with being alone with him in his elegant penthouse on Riverside Drive. I noticed that although the furnishings were adequate, they were not ostentatious. I noticed things like furniture and clothes, maybe a little too much Papa said. Of course, I liked to think in those days that I had good taste in such matters what with my background and all. I wish though that I had not put so much emphasis on what you early 21st century folks sometimes call "stuff," wish I had helped others a little more, especially my blood.
Unlike most of the people in Harlem, we Jackson's were not poor. Grandfather Jackson, "Old Jack" as he was called, turned out to be a financial genius. He worked as a butler for Jason Bolls, one of the most successful financiers on Wall Street. He picked up all kinds of financial savvy from conversations he overheard and books he sneaked from the great man's library.
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