FromYourHoney

Today is Sonia’s birthday.I’m not gonna say her age,cause I don’t want any static.I love you baby.You’re my greatest gift.

Theee concert of the year was just held at Norfolk’s Town Point Park…..The Norfolk Jazz Festival!!  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  WHAT A SHOW!!  Not one but two nights of jazz fusion/contemporary jazz.  As the kids say or used to say…IT WAS OFF THE CHAIN or HOOK or something!!!  I don’t know what it was off but I do know, (in plain English) it was good!!  Friday night featured Lonnie Liston Smith, Tom Browne, Roy Ayers, Ronnie Laws and Wayne Henderson.  They were billed as the Giants of Jazz Fusion and giants they are.  Each artist took the stage individually, and played some of their hits.  The artist that was on stage introduced the next artist (Lonnie intro’d Tom, Tom intro’d Roy, etc).  The band backed up each artist thereby eliminating set up time in between sets.  They flowed from one artist to the other with no lag time in between.  The roadies were loving it!!  They set the stage up to start and broke it down at the end and got PAID!  The finale was all these giants playing together as one, song after song after song.  Ronnie Laws even played two horns (tenor and alto sax) at the same time!!  The only person on the stage under the age of fifty was the drummer Lee Pearson and he took playing the drums to another level……blindfolded balancing one drum stick on his head while playing like a madman with the other hand and two feet.  The man never missed a beat!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!  These cats played classic songs like “Expansions,” “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” “Jamaica Funk,” “Always There” and “Keep That Same Old Feeling.”  The audience and I were mentally transported back to the 70’s and 80’s by an everlasting timeless groove.  Add to that the gentle continuous breeze blowing across the Elizabeth River that made the heat of the day bearable and you have a trip that was inspired and blessed by God.  Even my wife left me alone cause she knew I had been waiting for this night a long time.  She hung out with Theressa Brown and Cocoa Butter…….. hmmmmm.  I don’t think they heard any of the music, they were going from VIP tent to VIP tent to free food stand to everything in between.  By the time I saw them (at the end of the show), my thoughts were “man, if this was the 70’s or 80’s, all of y’all would be coming with me tonight.”  Later, I was re-living the show with my wife Pam and she had no idea what I was talking about.  She didn’t see or hear any of what I was talking about.  I don’t know who had more fun……..ME or THEM!!  The entire evening was surreal.  Good people, good music, and good times. ……. and it continued on Saturday night.  That’s right, day two of the Norfolk Jazz Festival.  It featured saxophonist Pamela Williams (whose personality was as bubbly as the day was hot), Fattburger (whose latin infused grooves were the only thing hotter than the day) and Jeff Lorber Fusion (who brought the cool to close out a hot day) featuring Eric Marienthal  and Hampton Va’s own Ronnie Jenkins (on bass).  TWO GLORIOUS NIGHTS OF JAZZ AT TOWN POINT PARK IN NORFOLK, VA!!  I wish I could back those nights up and repeat them but like Suga says, “I can’t do this!” (you had to be there to understand).  Lord willing, I can’t wait till next year’s Norfolk Jazz Festival.

If you’re one of the few folks in the world who’s managed to lose a little weight,well first of all God bless you and keep it up. I’ve been trying,but I’m sitting here thinking about a burger right now. I see people walking at Mt. Trashmore errday and I admire them so much.One day I’m gonna stop and walk for a while myself. Share your success story with me,hit me up if you’ve lost a few,gained a few,it don’t matter.We have to stick together . Hit me up either way.

Ahhh yes…..the Summer!  That time of year for…….. Vacation Bible School and Summer Camp!  First, let’s talk about Vacation Bible School or VBS.  Now, when I was a kid, all I heard was the word SCHOOL!  Immediately, I was not interested in attending….. at all….. period.  I mean, hey, I just got out of school for what was supposed to be the entire summer!  Now, you want me to go back and you’re trying to trick me by calling it “VACATION.”   Ohhhh NO!!  It didn’t matter that it was ONLY two weeks and ONLY half a day, I didn’t want to go.  I kept thinking homework and teachers yelling and swinging that ruler or yardstick at you (corporal punishment was a part of regular school when I was a kid…..that meant the teacher could whup your butt).  I told my mom, “I ain’t going.”  That was a bad move.  Back then, you didn’t tell yo momma what you ain’t gon do because the thing you may not do is LIVE!!  After I got to the church, I hoped beyond reason that they showed plenty of filmstrips so at least a kid could catch some zzzzzz’s.  Much to my surprise, by the time VBS got going on a daily basis, it was time to leave.  I was home watching TV & eating pnut butter crackers (more about them later) by 12:30 pm.  The teachers at VBS weren’t real teachers, they were the high school students that attended our church.  And some of those high school girls were FINE (I could tell that even at a young age).  They told us Bible stories, real cool Bible stories (Solomon, Samson, David & Goliath, etc), we had arts & crafts, we sang and we got snacks…..real cool snacks like pnut butter on crackers.  Matter of fact, those were the best pnut butter crackers I have EVER had.  Even to this date, if I make them myself, they just don’t taste like the ones I got at VBS as a kid.  Course now, we had to buy those snacks.   But it didn’t cost a lot.  You could get 10 peanut butter crackers for 3 cents, a half pint of milk was 4 cents (gotta  have milk with pnut butter crackers you know), ice cream was a nickel and so forth (they were teaching us of purchasing power).  For Arts & Crafts, we worked with clay, pipe cleaners, popsicles sticks, beads, and so on.  Then on the last day of VBS, we got to do something (sing a song, recite verses, perform a skit, etc) in front of everyone else and we all were awarded a certificate for attending.  Yeah, VBS was cool and fun.  I hope the kids attending VBS now have as much fun as I had back in the day, which brings us to summer camp.  THAT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT TRIP!!  It was sponsored by The Boys’ Club (now The Boys & Girls Club).  Anything sponsored by The Boys’ Club was on point…….most of the time.  Summer camp was a week long and they would provide daily transportation to the camp site.  We only stayed overnight the night before the last day of camp.  I always looked forward to summer camp even though I knew at some point I would get into a fight and would probably get beat up.  You see, I was big for my age.  A 3rd or 4th grader the size of a 7th or 8th grader and it was rough being the size of a 7th/8th grader possessing the fighting skills of a 3rd/4th grader.  It seems like I always got beat up…… at least once every camp.  I remember this older kid bet me a dime he could make me spit blood.  I told him no he couldn’t and accepted the bet.  That boy hit me dead square in the mouth….. then told me to spit.  Wouldn’t you know it, there was blood.  I got popped in the mouth and lost a dime. I told him I could make him spit blood too.  And I would have, if he would have hung around after stomping me into the ground.  There was however, one group that was happy to see me at every summer camp……. the mosquito’s.  They would swarm to me.  I was the special of the day at the mosquito diner.  The menu must have read ”dark meat blood for you all day suckers, get him while he’s here.”  I had so many mosquito bumps, it looked like a heat rash.  Add to that, usually, I’d find a way to fall into the river that we camped alongside.  I walked out one time with a little fish in my pocket, scared the bee-gee-bers out of me.  I did get the chance to play team sports, cook hot dogs over an open fire, make things (arts & crafts), sing songs, tell stories, hike through the woods, learn about nature (I still know poison ivy & oak when I see it) and make lifelong friendships (even with some of those older guys who beat me up).  Ahhhh yes, the Summer!!

For quite a few years now,Sonia has asked me to grow some hair on my head.Before we came to va.I had what amounted to two full time jobs.(radio in the morning,tv at night),and I didn’t have time to hang out at the barbershop.Well now that I have the time,she said,”let it grow a little”.It took me a while to get my mind around it,cause old habits die hard…but here we go.(you can joke me about it,I don’t mind) I always kept a shaved head because it’s easy to maintain,cheap too.

The elements of the universe came to p-town,and these great listenters hooked us up with a few pictures.

I can’t believe that Kristin will be a senior this fall. It seemed like this day would never come, but now that it has come, it feels like it has happened too fast. We are discussing colleges, her dreams and goals, personal things and so much more. She’s driving and hanging out with her friends without me being present. I am so thankful for my relationship with Kristin. She helps me out in so many ways. My friends often say that they will have to commit me when she goes off to college. Hell I need to be committed now!!! Tell you the truth; I should have been committed when I was born!!! But Kristin is such jewel. She’s smart, beautiful of course she looks like her mother, okay I had to throw that in there. Okay back to Kristin, she’s obedient, strong willed, fears God and me!!! Cause yall know I don’t spare the rod. But soon I will have to let her and go and experience this world. I pray that she remembers all that I taught her and know that God is her provider and protector. Well I still have this school year, so I will enjoy this time with her. Just thoughts on my daughter…..

The concert scene continues here in Hampton Roads.  This past weekend, it was the 70’s Soul Jam.  Make no mistake about it, I was definitely in my element.  Harold Melvin’s Blunotes featuring Sharon Paige, Blue Magic, The Delfonics and The Stylistics took the stage at Ntelos Pavilion (a beautiful venue adjacent to the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth).  Everybody there was transported back to the decade of “free love”.  The only things missing were afros, bell bottom pants, stack heel shoes and the tell-tale aroma of marijuana wafting through the venue.  Being a product of the 70’s (meaning I’m older than cable TV), I’ve seen the acts before.   The first time I saw the Delfonics was at North Carolina A&T’s homecoming.  I was attending Livingstone College and playing football.  I faked an injury just so I couldn’t make the trip to an away game.  As soon as the bus left with my teammates, I jumped in my car and headed for Greensboro.  I was so pressed to get there, I passed the bus carrying the team on I-85.  When they got back, Coach told me he saw a purple car (that’s right PURPLE, hey I’m a Que) just like mine on I-85 but he knew it couldn’t be me cause I was hurt.  The homecoming show was in the gym and I couldn’t wait to see the Delfonics.  The fact that I didn’t have any money or a ticket to the show didn’t occur to me.  Thank goodness for my frat brothers (Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.), they came to my rescue.  One of them left the back door to the gym unlocked and I squeezed through the little opening of the chained doors. “ I’M IN….BRING ON THE DELFONICS!!”  But first some new group came out…..somebody called…….The Funkadelics! “ Who are these…..NO, what in the world is THIS!  Is that dude wearing a baby bonnet and a DIAPER!   And are the rest of them dressed to go IN outer space or are they FROM outer space!   Look at the boots on this cat! And is that one wearing a cod piece!  Oh my goodness and what are they throwing out to the audience?”  At that time, one of what they were throwing landed at my feet.  It was then that I discovered……they were throwing out joints!  “C’mon man, ain’t no WAY this is real!  OH, OH……..WAAAAY!  Are you kidding?!?”  Needless to say, a funkateer was born THAT day.  I became a fan of Funkadelic and the spin off groups as well.   Then came the Delfonics, wearing CAPES.  Ohhhh my goodness!  The women went crazy!  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music and seeing them perform, albeit, through half opened eyes.  After the show, the women were still in a frenzy and the brothers of Mu Psi chapter were having an after party.  I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again ….. thirty some years later…..THANK YOU DELFONICS for a really enjoyable time (OH YEAH).  And that same saying goes for the 70’s Soul Jam as well.  THANK YOU Harold Melvin’s Blunotes featuring Sharon Paige, THANK YOU Blue Magic, THANK YOU Delfonics and THANK YOU Stylistics for taking me back to a time when the music was romantic & pure, when performers not only dressed the part but also did in sync choreography while singing and didn’t miss a note, when the audience was in harmony with the show and when no one had a beef with anyone else about anything.  Music is a time machine and through it you can relive anything.  Yeah, I’m old but I’m also fortunate and blessed because you can’t RELIVE until you LIVE.  I relived some great memories Saturday night.  And more memories are on the way….next up, the Norfolk Jazz Fest.  Bring it on!