Page 47 - DAPHNE HART - MY MAMA STORY (AUDIO VERSION)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T
he year was June 2nd, 1973. Time passed so slowly, but after
a year, I got my landed status. So I applied for the children.

My first real job was babysitting two little boys for a couple
in Mississauga. Their grandparents were from Ukraine. They would

argue and fight almost daily about one thing or another, but they were

very nice to me. I was more like a live-in teacher than a babysitter, and
the kids were eager to learn. So when my expected husband was to

come up, they helped me with everything. He came up very quickly.
They arranged our wedding, and the venue was their house—right in

the backyard.

We all lived together for about two years. One evening, we were out
walking with the boys when two bigger kids rode up beside us and

asked, “Are you Flip Wilson?” He was the only Black comedian on TV
at that time. “No,” we said. “You sure look like him,” one of them

replied. They rode off, disappointed. There weren’t any other Black
folks around—not in Mississauga, anyway.

One day, we went for a long drive northwest of Mississauga. Suddenly,

we entered into a little village called Orangeville. We went into a small
store, and all eyes were on us. We asked for two sodas but were

completely ignored. The year was about 1974—the first time I had ever

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