Excerpt from a letter to my cousin:

I am confident that you are aware of these things, yet I hear in your letters a longing to be told something else. More comfort. An answer to your problems. I don't have any. I am just as puzzled as you are at your predicament. Having such strong desires and being without the means to fulfill them is the most basic of all human struggles. Look at the Bible...Abraham: no son, then: kill your son. Moses: no hope of crossing into the promised land. EVER. David: your kingdom will be divided. Hosea: you must marry a prostitute and she will cheat on you. Jesus: your best friend will betray you. P.S. the people you love will hate you back. No one escaped disappointment. Nobody got exactly what they wanted. But these are not the only things we remember them for. We remember Abraham's intimacy with God. We remember Moses' leadership and love for his people. We remember David's songs and Hosea's faith. We remember Jesus' command to love at high costs. I have no idea what you will be remembered for, and maybe they didn't know either. But love with your whole heart, give yourself time: time for silence, time for prayer, time for laughter, time for anger (but don't brood, I know you) time for good food and good conversation. Smile when beauty hits you, cry when tragedy brings a nighttime to your heart. Feel it all, it's yours to feel. This is the only life you get.

Babu.

A-Rod? Truly, these are the best days of our lives. And I'm spent. And the B-Bombers spend.

My Latest Recommendations:

Music:

For the tromboning...The Jazz Crusaders-Live at the Lighthouse '66
Yo, these dudes were part of the legendary assembly of musicians who played in Zaire '74 aka the Rumble in the Jungle. Wayne Henderson's trombone, better than chuleta. No Kidding.

Carmen McRae-Live at Birdland West: Fine and Mellow.
All I got to say is she brngs it fine, mellow, and awfully personal. Check out the last track. mmm, mmm, mmm!

Stevie Wonder-Talking Book
What are you waiting for that you don't have this yet? Track 7. Big Brother. Very appropos. I would be willing to turn over all my possessions to see Stevie sing it live at the White House.

DVD:

The Work of Director Michel Gondry
Yeah, Off the hook. Directed the Bjork joints I love, the Stones, the famed White Stripes & More.

Books:
Adrienne Rich-What is Found There
Read This...She wrote it over 10 years ago. "War comes at the end of the 20th century as absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political.That a war can be represented as helping a people to feel good about themselves, thier country, is a measure of that failure."

Happy Valentines Day!
I feel like it's January 1st and I get to start a whole new year! Been dealing with some pretty discomforting health issues, but just got the word that nothing's deathly wrong with me. The relief has pushed me into a rest. I am so grateful for this quirky body and am resolved to take better care. Easier said than done. But so necessary. At the actual turn of the year I promised myself that this year was going to be about coaxing the frightened inner child out of my heart's basement to come out and play. So this Valentine's Day is dedicated to her, and to New York City, who's been more like a stepmom than a lover, but so be it. I love this town. and Stephon Marbury :). Yesterday night we had the sweetest open mic at the 5C Cultural Cafe. Robert premiered one of his hilarious sketches...I played the garish diva Helvetica. Need I say more? Sabrina featured, lucky us! So beautiful, so full of light and life and love, just the kind of person you would want to read to you all night. I am so grateful for writers like her, who open the door to beauty and insist that it take residence. Last night was living in beauty. I am full with it today.

When there is light in the soul
There is beauty in the person
When there is beauty in the person
There is harmony in the home
When there is harmony in the home
There is honor in the nation
When there is honor in the nation
There is peace in the world.

Here's to the first step.

AK