Jazz & Poetry

Spread Joy up to the Maximum!

June 24, 2009 at 2:52 pm Leave a comment

Last week I drove to Memphis and back by myself. I’ve made long drives before so I was prepared with charged cell phone, healthy snacks and a whole pile of CDs to listen to for the journey. There is something completely liberating about flying free. The two weeks of workshops in Memphis were a lot of fun and I took a bit of time to actually get to know the “real” Memphis, not just the Beale Street tourist section. The history of music and civil rights in that city run deep, but today there are shadows around it’s former glory. Whole streets of businesses and houses are boarded up and empty while the next block over is alive and thriving.

I returned to my home with a new pile of tunes from the CDs lodged in my head that include artists like Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, the Drifters, and Professor Longhair. This particular song seems to be on constant “repeat” in my brain. I had a recording of Johnny Mercer singing it, but Aretha is fun too…

What a handy thing to have in your head when you come home to a pre-foreclosure notice in the mailbox and a large two trunked red oak tree across your driveway! I’ll admit, the sight made me shed a few tears, but a few calls to the right friends had me on top of the situation quickly. This week began the Mountain Clearance Giveaway. I’m unloading the burden of stuff that has weighed me down for far too long and it’s truly liberating. Rather than making a mountain out of a molehill, I’m taking apart the mountain. One of the things I enjoy doing best is helping people find what they need. So…I’m inviting folks to bring a car full of joy by the house this week and take something you can use away with you. We all benefit that way.

Once I’m free of the baggage I don’t need, I look forward to spreading joy in my own quirky way to as many corners of the world as possible.

Entry filed under: Jazz, reflections.