(Celebrating a Life that Lasted from January 18, 1927-February 9, 2014)

By Ernie McCray

Tanja Winter.
Talking about a woman who had pizzazz.
I wrote, for her 80th birthday,
how she came into the world
about the same time as

Bob Fosse
who gave us
some sexy razz ma tazz
in the name of
All that Jazz;

as

Cesar Chavez
who
in the souls
of the tillers of the soil
turned gray skies blue;

as

Coretta Scott King
who strived
to keep dear Martin’s Dream
fresh and alive;

as

Harry Belafonte
who’s still fighting for justice
each and everyday;

as

Roslyn Carter
who helps the down and out
in many a way.

Tanja was a great human being
is all I’m trying to say.

I remember when she created
Friends of Nicaraguan Culture
to help a people
in their struggles for peace and liberty
while contras
were supported and heralded by a Reagan named Ronnie
who had no heart for common folks who simply
wished only to live free
with roofs over their heads
and food to eat
and clothes on their back
and schools for their children
and all that a human being needs
to live with dignity.

I saw her give refuge
to the nuclear radiated weakened children of Belarus.
She was forever putting her organizing skills to use
for giving vent
to everything from child abuse
to global warming
to toxic pollution
to the lack of solutions
to economic injustices
and immigrants
crossing hot deserts and freezing mountains
and so many folks going to jail unnecessarily
as their precious liberties
were looked over due to their “lack of fees,”
so to speak,
and the wars that continually
deny the people of the world
the air of peace
we so desperately need to breathe.

To put her life in perspective etymologically,
Tanja Winter clearly
was off da hook and off the heezy fosheezy
and “off the hizzle”
or “fo shizzle my nizzle”
to put it synonymously.
She was the bomb,
the bee’s knees,
the cat’s pajamas and/or whiskers, if you please,
the big cheese,
and, do tell, the clam’s cuticles and the snake’s toenails,
and the elephant’s instep
and the caterpillar’s spats,
and the frog’s eyebrows.
She was “all that”
but that’s enough of that,

To put it more realistically, in 3D,
Tanja hasn’t left us spiritually.
She’s in the psyche
of everyone she touched indelibly.

We’ll have to keep our eyes on the prize
because we know if we don’t
and we meet up with her some where out there
we will have to look her in the eyes
and explain why.
And none of us, I’m sure,
will want that tongue lashing
in the sky.

So, in her spirit,
we must continue

to try to turn gray skies blue
for those who need us to
like she and Cesar would want us to.

We have to,

as Coretta did
and Belafonte and Roslyn are continuing to,
stay in the fray,
day after day,
and continue to strive
to keep dreams
of freedom alive,
just like Tanja lived her life.

That would allow her legacy
of unrelenting advocacy
for peace and justice
to last
like the razz ma tazz and sass
of Fosse’s
All that Jazz.

There could be no better way to honor
our beloved Tanja
than to keep on keepin’ on
with class and pizzazz.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Ernie McCray

I was raised in a loving and alive home, in a black neighborhood filled with colorful characters in Tucson, Arizona. Such an environment gave me a hint that life has to be grabbed by the tail as tight as a pimple on a mosquito's butt. With no BS and a whole lot of love. So, from those days to now I get up every morning set on making the world a better place. On my good foot*, and I hope my writing reflects that. *an old black expression

Latest posts by Ernie McCray (see all)

• Should Democrats, like Superman, Seek ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’? - December 10, 2018
• Saying Goodbye to a Friend Who Gave Me a Helping Hand - November 28, 2018
• An Awakening - November 21, 2018