Thursday, January 12, 2012

Remembering the Darktown Strutters and those that came before us...

Alberta Hunter 1895 - 1984
Listening to Alberta Hunter...the majestic and legendary Alberta Hunter..."There's only one way to keep a good woman down.. You gotta put her on an island and make her water bound!"  Ha! Love that. I am looking at her performing at the Smithsonian at the age of 87.  Just as strong and as sexy as she can be.  I don't think there is anything else in this old world that keeps my soul light and cheerful more than to see older black women loving life and still being able to participate in it fully.  She talks about being independent and always doing that thing that she loves...making music and making somebody else smile. 


Life in the Third Chapter is a marvelous thing.  Being decisive and sure.  To know what is acceptable and what is truly unacceptable and not being afraid to say so.  Being clear of thought and understanding just how blessed I am  to have reached this wondrous age.  No longer am I swayed by the opinions of others but knowing without a doubt what truly works for me....from the way I praise, to the way I tie my shoes.  Don't ask me when it was but somehow I woke up one day immune to criticism.


Sing on, Alberta, sing on!  Do that thing that God has gifted you to do.  Somebody needs to know that life does get better as you get older. Love the way the body moves now or doesn't move on a cold morning depending.  Clap those hands to that jazz funk, low-down gut-bucket blues.  Do people still snap their fingers to a good beat?  Well, I sure do.  Reminds me that I am still a woman and I am still living.  


The history of a nation in that furrowed brow.  How folks managed to make it in spite of.  Darktown Strutters strut on.  Keep telling the story that I don't want to ever forget. Keep reminding us how good it is to be who it is that we are.   Black and proud and beautiful...