Take Care, Folks...

We went to a musical event last night. A local neighborhood get together. Lots of folks getting up to play music, plus a great DJ spinning vinyl. He had me in the palm of his hand when he put on Buffalo Springfield's "Mr. Soul." Neil Young's voice cut thru the crowd like a knife. Folks, dancing, chatting, laughing, it was quite fun. The Looming Global Pandemic was in the air. I mean, it seemed to be on everyone's mind. Still, everyone just did their thing. Damn the torpedoes.

When we got home we washed our hands: soap, warm water, singing the Birthday Song to extend washing time. That is what the Authorities tell us to do. "Wash your hands, and don't panic." That's pretty much the extent of their advice. The more the authorities try to reassure us that everything is fine, the more I can't help thinking this is gonna be an epic problem. It's a trust thing, I know.

Words of reassurance from the authorities are making me panicky. Very unlike me.

I think back to that great Edgar Allan Poe story "The Masque of the Red Death."  Folks partying while Death comes knocking on the door. I know, overly-dramatic. Covid-19 is not "the Plague," but still it sounds like a nasty virus, and something to avoid.  Sickness, and rumors of sickness are in the air. Don't want to lose it. Best to keep calm & collected, try to "be careful."

"Is that all there is? Then let's keep dancing." - Peggy Lee

It's those invisible strings I'm worried about. We are all connected. We are all permeable, we are all vulnerable. Take care folks. Wash your hands, frequently. Oh yeah, and don't panic!

The a.m soundtrack - Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book." (1972). Little Stevie Wonder grows up. It was Stevie's 15th album (!). Fabulous. Something very, very funky & new. Who knew that synthesizers could be so soulful and funky? When it was released in 1972, and made the airwaves, it announced itself as something really, really new and extraordinary. A master music-maker unlike any other. The sound of that clavinet on "Superstition" was a complete revelation and head-turner. This was the sound of moment and the future. Stevie Wonder. Truly a wonder, an innovator, so human, so inspiring. The album sounds so real, beautiful, immediate, of the moment, so many years later, even this morning. It is the perfect medicine. Calming. Reassuring. Art. Love. Funk. Cool. I mean, Global Pandemic be damned!