In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Important Things to an Eight Year Old Saladin Ahmed FOR HAJI ALIYA HASSAN Experience with matriarchs began with Haji She was ... an Arab She was ... a Woman She was ... a private detective! circa 1950 New York But no connections were drawn by his Crunchberry-powered brain as he sat on the edge of her bed thinking "Dang! Cagney and Lacey are tough!" She was . . . acquainted with Malcolm She was . . . one of his guides to Mecca She was ... a jet-haired smoke screen, blinding FB's eye But no connections were drawn as his little chocolate peepers were peekabooed by wrinkled yellow brown hands that looked like old treasure maps. Amid the mountains of social justice, the oceans of personal achievement, the plateaus of religious scholarship, were hidden the important things to him at the time 319 Politics To him, at the time the greatest miracles she hid in that crowded little green apartment on Central were... Sky blue Dutch girl pepper shakers Mother-of-pearl turtle-shaped candy dishes Non-halal steak and juicy family legends cut up just right She was ... at peace when cooking for him She was . . . happy when telling stories She was . . . very good at spoiling him But no connections were made on the day of her funeral, as he stood rubbing soap into his eyes, figuring he was not crying hard enough. As he stood, staring at her white scarf and sewn lips, at the age when he could begin to appreciate the awesome significance of her public accomplishments, wishing he loved her for these things, instead of loving her for the coffee she had made him at eight years old . . . He did not understand that these were important things to her at the time 320 ...

Share