I remember the first time that I recall Hazel coming to 165th Street, she must have been around 28. All the guys were standing in front of Seward’s and they followed Hazel right up to our stoop. Naturally, they were trying to “talk” to her and she said she was our sister and she was going to our house. I heard the commotion downstairs and looked out the window and all the hustlers were in front of our building and then the door bell rang. I opened the door and there she stood gorgeous and dressed so fine, just like Mom must have looked when she was Hazel’s age. Man, my sister was fine and on that day I realized that beautiful women ran in our family and Hazel (and Mom) became my standard of beauty.
