BASIN STREET BLUES

Today was a reflective day for me here in the Windy City. I spent a lot of time thinking about the South. I spent lot of time thinking about all the families who were like my own, but who weren’t as fortunate during the recent natural disaster.

CHICAGO and NEW ORLEANS are my favorite cities in America. But truth be told, I still like NEW ORLEANS more. When I close my eyes and think of the city, I remember walking through the French Quarter for the first time with my brother. I remember the quality and flavor of the gumbo that can’t be matched in ANY other town. I remember the Jazz.

Most of all, I can remember listening, with my family, to the voice of Sam Cooke (my mother’s favorite vocalist of All-Time) sing the music and words of Spencer Williams, who composed the song “Basin Street Blues” in 1928:

“Basin Street. Basin Street. That’s the place where my friends all meet. Down in New Orleans, in that land of dreams. And you don’t know how nice it seems. It’s dear to me, yessiree. And that’s the place I’m sure longing to be. Where I can lose, these old Basin Street Blues.”

How does this pertain to men and women’s misunderstandings of each other?

Well… I think it’s a natural tendency to sometimes find ourselves completely self-absorbed. Perhaps this is because so many of our experiences in life are alone. Perhaps that is why so many people wish to share a belief in the same spirituality in our world. Our deepest and most sincere thoughts can only truly be found within the confines of our own mind, which can sometimes leave us lonely.

However, it is the memories that we cherish dearly that light our path through some of the toughest times. Have you ever smiled to yourself when people were around and taken pleasure in knowing you have a private thought?

I think that sometimes we are fools to let our pride and our games rob us of the great memories that may last us a lifetime. For instance, if either myself or my brother allowed the argument we had at breakfast to be an excuse to shove our pride in one another’s face, on that wonderful day I think of so often, I wonder if I would have such a vivid and specific memory of being happy on that specific day, and at that specific moment later in that day. I wonder if I would still have memories I’ll share with my grandchildren; God-willing.

One of the worst regrets in the world is to know that you are responsible for creating some of your bad memories. In time, the best we can do is to push away our foolishness and move on. I suppose it’s one of those life-lessons, or punishments, we are supposed to endure. Fortunately, some memories are designed to fade, especially bad ones.

But luckily, some of our best memories are etched into our minds, and those need only subtle reminders to bring them back to life. There’s nothing like having a reminder to let you know that you had a hand in creating a wonderful memory that can make you smile in a crowd or an empty room.

So… how does this pertain to men and women’s misunderstandings of each other?

Well… be careful of the memories you help create. We should be able to look back and laugh, or just smile as much as possible, when we think of the good or wonderful memories we have helped create with: loved ones, friends, mates or just a pleasant stranger that took the time to speak. Life is about relationships: fraternal, business, romantic, platonic, familial, spiritual, casual, professional, friendly and so on.

I think sometimes we forget how much control we have over our lives, our surrounding circumstances, and the memories we help create.


Peace and Love,

nosthegametoo