Grandma's Black Book

My grandma kept a journal. I'd pick it up randomly, especially when I was missing her. It was filled with a few recipes and random quotes. My most used quote is: "If a dog had a square ass and a mud appetite... he'd shit bricks " and I'm still trying to get the banana pudding correct.

I've gone through the book so much that I have earmarks and post-it-notes everywhere. But today was different. I was in a grateful mood and something reminded me of her. I laughed at the memory like she was right next to me. It was at that moment that my grandma's book fell off the kitchen counter. I say out loud, " Hey Grandma! Thinking of you!" I picked up the book and noticed a key peeking outside of the back cover. Say what! I say out loud because I now know she is in the room with me.

All this time I never felt the key in the back or knew this little black book had a pocket in the back of the cover. Inside the pocket was a piece of a brown paper bag, with an address written in cursive. I research the address, it was the HSBC Bank in Chinatown located around the corner of her church, Marine's Temple Baptist Church. So I called and gathered all of the information they would need to allow me to access this secured box. I made an appointment for noon, because who wants to get up early in the morning.

A lady dressed in a classic pinstriped suit greeted me. Hello, May I help you? Yes, I have a noon appointment with the Branch Manager, I replied. You must be Ms. Thomas, we are waiting for you, please follow me, she said. We? (I question myself...getting nervous) As I enter the conference room, I'm asked to verify my identity and connection to my grandmother.

At this point, my mind is racing...What in the world was grandma into? It could be anything. They all nod their heads and look at me.

Come to find out...Grandma had helped an Asian family by giving them an apartment in a building that she was the super (landlord) of when the family first arrived. They met when Marine's Temple shared their space with an Asian congregation. They tried to give my grandma money but she refused. The husband became a banker at HSBC and opened up a thank you account for my grandmother. So, what's the key for? I asked. The key is where he kept the statements. (Back in the day it was called a passbook savings account)

Once a month he would update the book and leave it there. He purchased a lifetime account because he worked at the bank. However, he recently passed. His daughter (the lady who greeted me) was now the Branch Manager. She told me she remembered my grandma's fried chicken and bread pudding. I smiled thinking of how my grandma fed everybody with no problem. Grandma called her home the “Do Drop Inn”. The manager asked if I was ready to see the box. As I walked to the room I started to remember a time when "community equaled unity" was a neighborhood motto.

While walking to the room, the manager states that she still updates the account as a way to honor her father. She walked me to the box and pointed to the number 777. I laugh because that was the beginning of her phone number.

I put the key in and pull out a long box. Inside were several rectangular books. It showed that the banker deposited $25.00 a month in an account that earned 14.5% interest daily. It had been there for 50 years.

The account is now worth 10 Million dollars! The only thing running across my mind is, Do I tell my family?