Monday, September 01, 2003
more Wheels of Soul
Frank, I didn't know JR was no longer with us.
I met him almost (?) ten years ago at the Wheels of Soul headquarters on 61st. I went to a party there, must have been spring of 1993, I was an undergrad then and spending as much time off of Penn's campus as I could in as many different places as I could. The place was still pretty intimidating to a white girl with a vast overestimation of her own toughness (me). It put the Watusi Lounge to shame.
I lost the people I came with to the very back of the room and a bottle of Richards Wild Irish Rose. But I found JR, or rather he found me, and I don't remember what we talked about specifically but it had something to do with writing. And I remember the night felt safer after that.
I haven't thought about that night in a long time. Thanks, Frank, for the link and the memory.
- JES
ps. Don't completely diss the sestina. Side chapels can be comforting places (smaller, better lit, manageable) when the rest of the cathedral gets overwhelming. They were where smaller groups in the community could stake a claim on religious space and gain a spot to call their own.
I met him almost (?) ten years ago at the Wheels of Soul headquarters on 61st. I went to a party there, must have been spring of 1993, I was an undergrad then and spending as much time off of Penn's campus as I could in as many different places as I could. The place was still pretty intimidating to a white girl with a vast overestimation of her own toughness (me). It put the Watusi Lounge to shame.
I lost the people I came with to the very back of the room and a bottle of Richards Wild Irish Rose. But I found JR, or rather he found me, and I don't remember what we talked about specifically but it had something to do with writing. And I remember the night felt safer after that.
I haven't thought about that night in a long time. Thanks, Frank, for the link and the memory.
- JES
ps. Don't completely diss the sestina. Side chapels can be comforting places (smaller, better lit, manageable) when the rest of the cathedral gets overwhelming. They were where smaller groups in the community could stake a claim on religious space and gain a spot to call their own.
