Today’s Prompt: You stumble upon a random letter on the path. You read it. It affects you deeply, and you wish it could be returned to the person to which it’s addressed. Write a story about this encounter.
Today’s twist: Approach this post in as few words as possible.
Wow! Such a deep expression of love! I wish I could return it to the person so she would know how he feels. Maybe I could. . .
Today’s Prompt: Write about the three most important songs in your life — what do they mean to you?
Wow! I love a lot of songs! To narrow my choices to three is difficult to say the least. I will try my best but there are no guarantees.
I love “First Light” by Freddie Hubbard. The trumpet is the main instrument of the song; however Hubbard makes that instrument sing! From beginning to end, the trumpet is dominant and always in control even through the improvisation. The song starts slow, pick up in the middle with improvisation, and ends with a slow smooth sound. The other instruments add the perfect balance and harmony to the dominant trumpet sound, never trying to drown out the trumpet. I never met or knew Freddie Hubbard personally. However, judging from this song, I can tell Hubbard put a lot of time, energy, and discipline to playing and mastering this instrument. As a master of the instrument, he also chose band members who were equally masters of their instruments. He needed these band members to create the balance and harmony of the song. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Hubbard was considered a jazz legend.
Another song that I love is Angelique Kidjos “Fifa”. “Fifa” is also the title of her cd. Although she speaks in her native language, and I do not know the translation, it still is a beautiful song to me. Angelique was trying to combine her African culture, music, beats with that of the Western culture, music, and beats. It is sometimes difficult for international artists to do because Western culture, music, and beats are difficult to define and confine. However, Angelique’s strong tenor/alto voice comes through against the soft and quiet background of the music and background vocals.
Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love” is a classic sensual love song between two lovers. I love how she tells the story of love from beginning to end. First it’s the hearts, then the spirits, and then the bodies; all three are needed for a total love relationship and experience. Her multi-octave voice is the perfect pitch to describe the love experience.
To improve my blogging habit, I enrolled in a Blogging 101 Course! This is one of several ways to regularly write blogs, particularly on this blog, Lifelong Quest. I am forever learning; thus learning is a lifelong quest. And learning to regularly write my own posts is one of my quests.
As a blogger, I wrestle with so many things: what topics? long or short? educational? recreational? informational? Should it be related to my role as a media specialist? or related to one of my hobbies? What should I write? Most of my posts have been educational/informational and that has been safe for me. However, in order for me to become a better blogger, I should probably step out of my safety and comfort zone. I’m sure Blogging 101 will provide many opportunities to do this!
As I attempt to unlock my mind and allow it to drift, I’m thinking about my evening and all the tasks I wish to accomplish before I go to sleep. I’m thinking about tomorrow, what time I should get up and work out at the gym, and whether or not I should call about my squeaky brakes. I’m also thinking about what I should eat for lunch and/or dinner, and who I will select for my poem a day, and jazz artist for the day for my other blog. Sometimes I need to just stay in the present, and not focus on the “tomorrow”. Enjoy the moment, I’ve heard people say more than once. Sometimes I have a difficult time doing that.
I’m also thinking about a student who committed suicide this weekend. He graduated, either in 2012 or 2013. He was talented and I thought a bright future! One of his closest friends said she texted him before his death. He assured her nothing was wrong. She kept pressing him, but he kept saying nothing was wrong. But something was indeed wrong, and now he is gone. We will never know the reason for his suicide. But he had some friends that would have been there for him, like his closest friend who texted him, if he just said something was wrong and talked about it.
Lifelong Quest 