My grandmother, Ruby Jean never actually made it out of the hospital. My family and I lost her on July 28th, 1999. She was preceded in death two days prior by my great-grandmother, Mable, whom we affectionately called “Mom.” Mom unexpectedly suffered a massive heart attack in the very waiting room of St. Luke's Health in Kansas City, MO. The same hospital my grandmother would transition from two days later.

 

My family believes that “Mom” died of a broken heart and went before my grandmother to meet her in Heaven.

 

When I wrote this book in 2019, the garden was just a plot twist to create an alternate reality of how it happened. Now, as we set to publish this book five years later in 2024, Ruby Jean’s Garden has been manifested into reality. One day, my friend and impact partner, Phillip Ramsey, told me he could put a dent in my expenses at Ruby Jean’s by way of growing some of our offerings. That urging led to the purchase of land at 29th and Wabash, 10 blocks north of my grandmother’s home and 13 blocks north of where I lived with my mom and three siblings in a two-bedroom duplex growing up.

 

The gratitude that exists in my heart to be able to create a free community garden in honor of my grandmother, in the same neighborhood where I grew up is hard to fully articulate. I’ll leave you with this:

 

“If your mind can first see it, then it’s real. If only you deeply believe, and that deep-seated belief urges you into action.”

 

HEALTH IS FREEDOM!