Mood songs
...written on 03.14.04, @ 2:43 a.m.
Sat March 13, 2004
"So yeah, the annual "Should I stay or should I go?" question is nigh. I'd like to explore many options, so . . . Anyone know of any interesting jobs or opportunities out there that might fit me? "
Rather than put the above paragraph at the end of a crazy dream sequence, I thought I'd start off with it before I lost too many people.
Come on now, let's all think what the next greatest step for Kim could be and leave your ideas in the comments below. Thanks!
Today Min and I went again to the Blue Note in Nagoya to catch another live show. This one was by Karla Bonoff. It cost a few yen more than Rita's show did and there were a lot more people, in fact, it looked like a sold out crowd.
Karla seemed a little more shy than Rita, she didn't divulge any personal tidbits that I could pass on to ya's, or anything like that, but I really enjoyed the show. I never listened to her specifically back in the 70's or 80's, but I recognized a few of her tunes. I particularly liked "Rose in the Garden", a song off her 1977 self-titled album, and "Please be the one".
Min was a little down this evening, so I grabbed his arm and shook it, "Are you in the here and now, enjoying this moment, or are you wasting energy worrying and fretting about something?" I know what's bugging him, but gosh durn it, he shoulda known better, is all I gotta say. His timing in this whole affair has sucked to say the least and I refuse to coddle him in HIS misery of the moment. Like mine, his too shall pass.
At the train station, I saw a woman who seemed to be giving me the evil eye. I mean, I could have taken it that way, but you know how some people just have this permanent glower on their face, where their facial muscles just pull straight down into a frown? Or how about Catherine Zeta-Jones? She looks like she always has a smile on her face (hey, with that bod and her situation, who wouldn't be smilin'?), the sides of her lips have such a cute upturn.
Anyway, I saw the woman again on the train. She was facing me and I watched her talk to her seat companion for a while. At one point she leaned forward and let loose with a big crinkly eyed smile. How pleasant that was to see!
It reminded me of a time in the Dominican Republic (D.R.). I was working at a Baptist boys orphanage at the time. It was run by a Reverend and his daughter. Also at the institution (no one could call it a "home"), was the Reverend's daughter-in-law, Mireya.
Mireya looked a lot like Frida Kahlo. Black hair, unibrow, somber expression,etc and when she talked her tone was always angry, bitter or complaining. Perhaps the "incident" was to blame for her sourness.
You see, when Mireya was 8 months pregnant with her first child, she and her husband were in a truck going to a market in San Cristobal. The Reverend was behind his son's vehicle in another truck. Just as they were passing the prison, a man flagged the son down. The man owed the son money, a very paltry sum by all accounts, but enough for the man to start an argument and bring it to a close with a bullet to the son's chest.
The guard house at the prison emptied, all available hands surrounded and captured the assasin. That they didn't shoot him right then and there was a miracle. The Reverend ran to the truck ahead to find an hysterical Mireya cradling his mortally wounded son.
The "incident" was three years before I came to the orphanage and Mireya was still wearing the black and gray colors of mourning. In the two years that I worked there, I never saw her smile or say a kind or even neutral word. She was pure harshness and hate.
I left the D.R. in 1983 and returned again in 1987. In the spring of '89, I was on a trip to San Cristobal, taking a leisurely stroll down the very familar streets, when I felt a tug on my arm and heard my name called. I turned and came face to face with Mireya.
This however, was not the black and gray Mireya of yore. While my eyes immediately noticed her brightly colored outfit, the power of the inner happiness that came through her eyes and smile, just about knocked me off of the sidewalk. She greeted me warmly and we caught up on each other's lives. I told her that she looked marvelous and she informed me that she was in love and soon to be married. I told her I was sincerely happy for her and as she walked away with a bounce in her step, I really was truly glad to have witnessed her transformation.
So, I try to remember this story whenever I encounter a dour or sour expression. As Min likes to say, you can't know everybody's "back page" or history, so don't be too quick to judge a person by a mood, temper or gesture.