07/19/2026
All I can do is say her name. Say it Over and over and over again.. Diane Ferlatte! Diane Ferlatte! DIANE FERLATTE. Actually, I can do more than say her name. In several conversations that we had over the past several months, I felt that she was charging me, challenging me to tell OUR stories. OK, I KNOW that thatās what she was encouraging me to do. Telling me to do!! In that cool, kinda husky, voice. (Dianeās voice was MEANT to tell Stories. God! I loved her telling, but her VOICE, that tone, and vocal quality made her tellinā MO BETTUH! I digressā¦
āā¦tell our stories..ā I always loved and connected with the stories from the motherland AFRICA! Stories of Anansi from the Ashanti peopleā¦All the animal stories of the Masai. I donāt think Diane and I ever had a conversation where she didnāt say we need to tell OUR stories: The stories of the enslaved, the stories of the folks who got free, the stories of the folks in the neighborhood, the heroes and sheroes of African-American history. Brerā Rabbit and ādem. Ok! IMO DO IT! I will. Iām picking up the gauntlet! Or maybe I should say cow tell switch! Or maybe I should say STICK! Diane had this stick that she would pound out a rhythm with, before telling a story. Anywho, I will tell our stories!
What a pleasure and honor it was to have Diane Ferlatte call me up and ask for a story! āU got a story for me?ā the first time she said that, I gotta say I was a bit nervous. Later thoughā¦I would just be prepared when I saw the ļæ¼video call icon pop upš Then when my confidence was high, Iād call her up ,āI got a story for you.ā Then one or both of us would say āWanna hear it? Here it goš¤£ā Afterwards sheād calmly compliment me where the complimentinā was due, and then offer a few NOTES!š Just like a professor! I received them joyfully!! āU need a song!ā Sheād say often. Sometimes, Iād tell her a story that she was familiar with. āI use to tell that storyā¦but when I told itā¦ā Then I was in for a TREAT! Yep! A private session from the best of the best! I was always amazed. She was ill, but when she started telling a story, she was so full of vitality. I would watch her face, hear her songā¦and understand how I could be better: what I needed to do..add, take away, aļæ¼ book I should buyš Then, finally, from serious no-nonsense artist, sheād transform to warm and fuzzy, ElderMamaTeller. Flashing that GAWGEOUS smile! ālove yuhā. āLove u back Dianeāš„I am sending my condolences to her husband, Tom, and her children and grandchildren and all of us folk who loved to feel the sound and rhythm of her stick, hear her tell stories and sing songs to go ļæ¼with them!ļæ¼
