She doesn’t remember buying the records for 5-year-old Ahmir, but it does sound like something she would do, Ellen Bruzzese, known as Ellie, told CBS affiliate WGME.
This came in response to a Saturday Facebook post by Questlove, the Grammy-winning drummer for the Roots, explaining that his first records were bought by a woman called Ellie in Portland in 1976. The post showed a picture of the napkin where she had written down the records he reported liking and noted that she was getting a gift for Ahmir (Questlove was born Ahmir Khalib Thompson).
Questlove ended the post by asking if anyone could put him in touch with the mystery woman from the Portlander Hotel who bought him a turntable and three records when he was 5 years old.
Bruzzese’s daughter showed her the social media post, knowing her mother spent a lot of time at the Portlander in the 1970s. She said she typically went there five nights a week in the 1970s and 1980s, turning up after finishing her shifts at DiMillo’s.
While she does not recall buying the records, she does recall a little boy being in the Portlander one night, and another thing from the Facebook post struck her.
“We’re looking at 44 years ago, and it’s kind of hard to remember something like this, but I will tell you something, that is my writing on the napkin,” Bruzzese told WGME.
Regardless, she is touched that such a simple act of kindness would have such an impact.
“It’s really inspiring to know that something of that nature, somebody would pick up, and take off with it,” Bruzzese told WGME.