Speaking to the L.A. Times, Leslie Jordan was always good for a sassy one-liner. On the occasion of her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she read a poem about her mother who raised her, she told the Times, “She is the one who taught me to think, and taught me that this life is one big game of catch-22. And I learned life is short, and I learned to keep my sense of humor.”
She was a wonderful person, a wonderful mother, and this should not be a subject that gets lost in the shuffle. You can love her, but you can’t hate her, even though she was a nasty, nasty woman. She was a strong black woman who worked hard to do a good job as a mother and later a loving wife and good friend. She should have been applauded, not booed.
Leslie Jordan, and the work she does, is what everyone should be thinking about while we go to watch our sports, especially as it seems like a bunch of rich white guys are getting their way with the athletes.
Her daughter, Erica, recently published her second book “The Truth and Meaning of the Blues”. It’s about her relationship with her father, whom she has never met but is aware of through the letters he wrote her. She is also raising her son, the future NBA player, in the family home in North Carolina while her father is teaching, coaching, and playing for the New York Knicks.
Erica has faced many challenges in her life and while she didn’t start out that way, she is doing much better in life than she was a week ago.
On Sunday, we had an opportunity to meet Erica Jordan and her mother, Leslie Jordan, at her book signing.
The meeting was a bit of a surprise to me, but I like to meet new people all the time. She did share a brief introduction with me – it seems she likes to answer questions about herself.
She is very personable and really enjoyed talking with me. I think that is a trait we all need more of as we come into our new lives as adults.
While the reason for the meeting should be clear, the surprise was how well it