BAD NEWS TUESDAY

Tornadoes Continue – yesterday the day started with news of death and destruction in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas because of tornadoes.  Today, it’s like a tornado, infused with steroids, expanded to wreak havoc in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, and Kentucky.  As I write this, threats of tornadoes continue.   

     Prayers are lifted for those hurt and those helping. 

Clippers – News reports say the owner of the NBA team the Los Angeles Clippers uttered despicable pronouncements related to an entire group of people.  Simply put, he made racist statements. (I was inclined to write ‘offensive racist statements’ but is there any other kind except, ‘offensive’? I don’t think so.) 

Afro-Americans were scorned in the billionaire businessman’s contribution to the recorded conversation shared with the public.  The old, old story of racism is fresh once again.   Such could be helpful.  The dialogue over the next few days could encourage those who find racism disgusting to be totally intolerant of anyone expressing opposite views. 

     I wish.

Gunman Shoots Seven – Six individuals were shot and wounded by the perpetrator who was reported to have shot himself to death.  It was at a FedEx facility in Georgia. 

Once again, gun violence brought panic and horror, no doubt drastically changing the lives of individuals and families as their day unfolded.  I am saddened.   Hopefully more of us will work to strengthen the lobby for gun-control legislation.  Laws are needed to significantly reduce these incidents of pre-planned assaults.  

     We should not be afraid to peacefully assemble.

           
         *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
Interaction with family and friends brightened my day.           -           - From little brother Larry I learned of two authors I'm anxious to read, Sue Grafton and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 
- Daughter of best friend from 55 years back, now living miles away, generated a Facebook celebration of her Mother's birthday today.  "Happy Birthday, Shirley."
- Plans were finalized for the evening we're attending an Off-Off-Broadway production of NUNSENSE.  I can't wait!

Life is after all,  good. 

Never Bored

Music inspires me.  Amazingly, it’s a truth that escapes my sense of self for months and months.  The pleasure inherent in listening to good music is forgotten.  Then, thankfully, something guides me to again invite the art into my world and life becomes more beautiful.  As I write, listening to a playlist of favorites, I’m wishing my headphones were wireless so I might do chores centered in surround sound.  

This month a Facebook friend began posting a tribute to Jerry Scott, his friend over the years and a musical artist who passed from this world last April.  May he rest in peace. 

Curiosity led me to research; learn about Jerry Scott’s music.  From the little I found, I say he was a cabaret entertainer and much more, ala Bobby Short (1924-2005) who regaled fans for many years at New York City’s Carlyle Hotel.   In a YouTube video memorializing Jerry Scott - the man, Jerry is at his piano singing, “I’ll Catch the Sun”, a lovely song I never knew.   

Emotionally drawn to the lyrics, melody, and Jerry Scott’s phrasing I would listen repeatedly to the video.  If only it was mine for listening pleasure at any time.  I couldn’t buy from YouTube, nor was it in the iTunes store for purchase. Not accepting total defeat I listened to snippets of the song by others.  There was no connection like that with Jerry’s, but the heart-tugging features in each rendition were enough that I downloaded all.  See below.  Including a great piano performance by Jerry Scott, I bought thirty-six minutes of personally soul-stirring music, total cost $10.27 – a fabulous bargain!

La Stangata (The Sting) - the Entertainer	Jerry Scott	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Barry Rose	Song	$0.69
I'll Catch the Sun	Jay McShann	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Frank Chacksfield Orchestra	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Glenn Yarbrough	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Amy Allison	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Jay McShann	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Newell Oler	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch the Sun	Sarah Morrau	Song	$0.99
I'll Catch The Sun	Barry Crocker	Song	$0.99
God is Good.  Last evening, I added the Jerry Scott version – that which initiated my infatuation with the song.   I am grateful to the good friend who located  “Jerry Scott . . . By Special Request” his 1996 CD and got it to me.  “I’ll Catch the Sun” is No. 5 on the CD.  On my playlist, it is now No.’s 1, 6, and 11 giving me 50 minutes of soothing, memory provoking, grace inspiring music when I might have succumbed to noisy TV.

There’s just too much going on in todays media tech world for boredom to be in charge of me.

How about you?

We Believe

He lives today and so will we, forever, those of us who indeed believe. 

Easter . . . “the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held (in the Western Church) between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox.”

The above is the definition of Easter found in the New Oxford American Dictionary accessed in my laptop.

Long ago, when the minister preaching to us, his congregation, noted we were Easter people I held an understanding attitude, but I was puzzled.

Yet, it was simple.  Because we believe Jesus died on the cross, was buried and arose, because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have faith;  we believe in Him and His teachings, we have hope; we believe in new life after death on this earth.  We are Easter People.

May you and yours enjoy another glorious Easter.

A Disappearing Word

How many times have we heard I heart, rather than I love?  “I heart you.”  "I heart this."  "I heart that."  Love, the verb has been pushed aside.

 I'm thinking I’ve joined the trend.  I find myself closing text messages typing a brisk – LY – or simply inserting a tiny heart shaped symbol.     Lately, there's no “I love you” from me, not even a sweet “Love you.”

Am I helping ‘love’ disappear?

As a kid, I was totally familiar with ‘love, the verb’ due to avidly reading fiction and non-fiction.  Love just wasn't part of 'homespeak'. I didn’t hear my parents say, “I love you”; not to each other; not to me nor my brothers and sisters.  Today, writing and reading those words, I’m surprisingly sad because I never longed to hear the sentiment.  Their actions communicated love.  After all, the eight of us, each one constantly had mother and daddy's loving attention. If you’ve read my award-winning memoir, Black Star Girl, you know I KNOW they dearly loved each other and their family.

I pray my own parenting conveyed and easily spoke “I love you” to my girl and boy as I raised them in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.  My memory is that I did!

I know my four grandchildren hear the words and are assured of my love with every contact we are blessed to share. 

“Heart” is growing in popularity, a hip representative of ‘love’, that verb, which could disappear from our vocabulary

It shouldn’t happen.

 “I love you.”

Pass it on.