MONDAY
done deal, im outta here
voice shot, totally wore down, and may be coming down with a cold
im done
last hit at the american embassy today went well as always, and
was able to pull the remnants of voice out of the air somewhere
cause you know the show always go on, limping lame or game the show go on
got this little place ive found, a hole in the wall in kolkatas new market, gambled yesterday
and had one of the best indian meals ever for $150 rupees, ima do it again
what the hell, if i get sick im just sick at this point
im so wore out i probably wouldnt even notice
next time you hear from me i will be back in the cuse
refine my posts, put my pictures up and collapse
i am so behind on my schoolhouse obligations
this next month or so will be totally catch up
me with no voice and totally wore down - endurance rick
but it was worth it, me and india got along just fine
i liked all my cities: jaipur, delhi, guwati, kolkata
they were all in their own way magical
was just asked if id like to do a residency
if they serious im liable to take them up on it
im outta here,
rickydocs traveling medicine show pulling down the tent
rdoc
SATURDAY
okay, in calcutta, in a cyber cafe in the midst of a multitude in downtown calcutta
or as it is called here, kolkata, i mean a multitude, its like newyork times square squared
the state dept put me in this 5 star hotel (again) the oberoi, or something like that
and even subsidized it offends me, im not paying their prices if i can help it,
they charge 800 rupees for what cost 30 rupees at the cyber cafe, you see what im saying
so i ventured on out into the multitudes, found the closest cyber cafe and here i am
im kinda enjoying being out in the multitudes, i mean its a vibrant scene you know
but then i enjoyed assam a lot too, its the northeast and they have all these insurgencies up there so they are kinda proud of being survivors but i did my walk about the morning we left and the city felt good to me
everyplace ive gone has had a different personality, but guawati (sp) felt like memphis to me, god i loved that river, i walked alongside it, and they had these like stone piers that were built out into the river on stilts that were like meditation kiosks, they have these big trees
and there were altars and shrines built into the trees, it was kinda deep, i took pictures, i will post soon as i get back
it was all fogged over, i like that river, son of rama, im told its a mean river, that when it floods you have to get back
i told them my river dont play either, told them that memphis was on the bluff so we dont get flooded so we love the mississippi more than the rest of the delta does
the other thing i ilked about guwati was the salwar i beileve it was called, its a pants suit the women of the north wear, and they come in all these bold and beautiful color schemes, oh it was incredible, and to see a bunch of them togetherer it would be a like a flock of butterflies, hope the pc police dont charge me for that observation cause thats what i thought, i took plenty pictures of them too, probably more than i should have, they were some kind of beautiful
truth be told those salwars are everywhere but they seem particularly striking in guawati
did my hit this morning at the kolkata book fair and it went well, i have pretty much lost my voice, assam took it all, but you know how it is, when its showtime its showtime and the power come down on me and something comes from somewhere and i get through i just dont have my customary range and the minute its over i start croaking again
the book fair is this huge and humungous affair, ive been hearing about it since i got here, and everywhere ive gon there are book stores all over, india is an intersting 3rd world country because its ilke between the developed world and other 3rd world countries ive been, its ilke a hybrid fusion country, 2nd world instead of 3rd maybe, and they are seriously in love with their books here it seems, my kinda folk
i am relucatant to be making all these observations, i got to assume i dont know what im talkng about and that i got a lot to learn but such is life
went to smitas house, my guardian angel while ive been here in the northeast, today was and i know im mispelling it, puja, a day of devotion to saraswati(?) the goddess of learning and music, and smita was gracious enough to let me participate in it with her family, she said that saraswati was just right for me with my griotic thing, and she was right, i felt her, all over the city they were worshipping her, i bought a little icon of her or my altar, im adding her to my personal pantheon
apparently after its over the statue of her made of mud and all the offerings are tossed in the river, they are very serious about their rivers around here but i understand, im serious about mine
when i get off here im giong to go arund and see if i can find a statue of her for my altar, there were thousands of them yesterday when we were driving to the hotel but its over now and i will probably have truoble finding her but im sure going to try, the goddess of learning and music, i think she is ust right for me too, im giong to add her to my hoodoo pantheon, anymethod anytime right
i got two more hits and im thru, i been soaking myself with teas, cause i want to make my commitments and my voice is shot, the last two performances it was the power that brought me thru
apparently i didnt upset the state folk as much as i feared, they cant really be too explicit but i get the sense that obama has made their job a lot easier and they are eagerly waiting to see what hillary is going to do
that presentation wasnt not as enthusiastically received as the others have been because i did my little lecture on the blues history and blues culture, which is what they contracted me to do but once i started doing my performances thats all they want but i was determined to show them that im more than just a pretty face,
so i dropped some wisdom on them, tomorrow im supposed to do a presentation on literature and the global narrative in the morning and a performance that afternoon, so i will be hitting them with both hands for my finale
i feel like tennessee ernie ford, 1 fist is iron, the other is steel, if the right one dont get you then the left one will
i guess thats it, let me get out here and see if i can find the goddess of learning and music and immerse myself in that multitude outside the door
my apologies for the rawness, the connection is balky but i refuse to pay those 5 star hotel prices, i just refuse
life is good
all my love
rdoc
i g
FRIDAY
hello world, im in the airport at guwahati in assam, northeast india
this has been an really moving part of the journey for me
guawahali(?) is a different part of india, different from jaipur and new delhi both
guawahali feels more like the delta than either of the others, its grittier
and they got this boss river running alongside, i will have to get the spelling
but its basically son of rama and as one person told me today, the only river in india
that is male, our own old man river she said, truth be told i think there is one other
but you know im not going to object to a little mythwork
i think i enjoyed the congregations here even more than the others
this felt more like home than any of them so far
im looking forward to calcutta though i must say, i got to go, they just announced my plane
will finish this later,
all my love
rdoc
I HAVENT THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT DAY IT IS
i think i made the state dept uncomfortable w/some of the political content
of my presentation last night, that was unfortunate, dont want to bite the hand
thats made it possible for me to visit india, its my griotic nature to push the political edge
and i judge the audiences that i think will respond well to a more substantive approach
and being self critical about american policy i dont approve of makes me that much more sincere
a representative of the america folk around the world want to see
for the last couple of years whenever i tell shine and i have the shark trying to catch him
i have the shark tell him wait up shine, i just want to ask you some questions, dont believe
what folk say about my interrogation technique, its just a little enhanced, and shine it sound
like torture to me and shine swam on
this meant something during the bush years when torture was official american policy
and media was unwilling to call torture torture,
this is one of the bush policies that has offended me most, and the cowardice of media too
but in the age of obama its old news, its not fresh anymore
i been making that commentary for years and it was just habit
i made them uncomfortable for nothing, i like representing america and had hoped to be invited back
but i could feel that didnt go over well, what was i thinking, always something to be regretful about isnt it
ohwell, moving on i see that obama is catching flack from the republicans on the stimulus plan
part of this is that they really believe in that small government (no government?) taxcut approach
in spite of the fact that that approach is what has gotten us into this mess in the 1st place
but its also that theyd rather see him fail and think it will help them take back power,
obama is going to continue to reach out to them but hes going to be showing some steel beneath that charm
and he might want to consider using that network of his to put some pressure on them
friendly pressure, the american people are going to have to speak out on this one
the republicans need to get spanked, part is they really believe in their played out policies
but they also rather obama not succeed, theyd rather he go down in flames
and take america with him, thats cold and they need to be called on it - we see you
leaving new delhi today, i apologized to the state dept for making them uncomfortable
jacking up an american policy of torture meant something during the age of bush
at this stage of the game and in this context it was just kiddiework
im too old for kiddiework
all my love
rdoc
MONDAY
okay, back in the world, gon be hard after the spiritual/literary high of jaipur lit
that was something magical - this next week will be strictly endurance - pacing and endurance
when i look at that schedule im glad i didnt agree to stay longer
couple of quickies: obama got to watch out or the longknives waiting for him to fail obama has to
be careful how he deals with them, by mentioning limbaugh he elevated limbaugh to his level
good news in rwandas arrest of gen nkunda, a chance to stablize eastern congo
hopefully that combined rwandan/congo force will be able to neutralize the hutu militias
okay, let me follow through right quick on a promise i made to a budding writer
ayesha malla, my nepalese contender, i havent forgotten about you - as promised here
are the pieces, when youve translated those love poems send them to me too
her little buddies, budding lawyers, businesswomen and development officers, kept teasing her about how sad her love poems were, those are the ones i really want from you ayesha, soon as youve translated them send them to me - her little buddies were looking out for her, convincing her to speak up, to believe in herself, translating her works from nepalese into english for me, thats my crew, the mayo college girls school posse, sorry i couldnt get them put on the schedule, thats my crew
soon as i get back to syracuse ima put up pictures of them
you keep that dream alive ayesha, stay in touch, send me your work
over the years and remember you promised to try some fiction for me
that was the deal
i did minimal edits on you, coherency, i will send more extensive commnts to your email and remember
its all in the rewrite - work can always be better and send me some fiction soon as you can
the works of ayesha malla
ayesha works #1
if you wish for something you dont really want, something you think you deserve, then you are granted your wish, can you imagine any fool doing something like that, it is a regret of the highest order
(ayesha, consider some consequence after the wish is granted that causes the regret)
ayesha works #2
you know when everything in life turns around, when everything changes, when nothing seems the same but you feel like it is, and then reality hits and everything you have molded of life shatters, breaks beyond repair and leaves one truth which will stay with you forever, even after your body burns to dark mystical ashes
ayesha works #3
dark nights, shattered lives, bloody eyes quenching their thirst for bloodshed is all i see in todays world but deep down i know somewhere hidden behind the sloped mountains, a new borning deep down beneath the sparkling saffire ocean lies a deep golden ray of hope which will enlighten and motivate all, maybe not today but definitely someday when the time is right
ayesha works #4
feelings remain untouched, secrets remain untold but friends remain forever...all this i do believe and i also believe that i see life the way it should be seen and deep down i have this evil splinter burning which tells me that what we see is not the truth, but when you start seeing what is not shown to you, as in when you see the depth of every object, of every obstacle, of every string of joy, hope, faith, love, or friendship, then you can say that i have seen, experienced, lived a worthy life....it is there that your eye has performed its real duty
the works of ayesha malla of the
mayo college girls school posse
all my love
rdoc
AND OH, SO TIRED OF THE MISERY. BuffaloSoldier salutes James Faulkner. YOUTH!! Boy, the ground we
must cover and the little time to cover it. Sounds a lot like life. When the LionKing took on The
Templar, Rush Limbaugh, a lot of folks questioned the move. One word came to mind. SHREWD! The radio landscape is shrinking. ( TV anchors are disappearing before our eyes.) So desperation is
settling in. Rush, in the cover of darkness, asked for the failure of the LionKing. But that's asking for the failure of America. So he has chosen ideology over country. The LionKing threw
the spotlight on him, like a helicopter throwing light on a fleeing suspect. The Templar is desperate to rally his troops. So he went after the quarterback as surely as he went after Black
quarterbacks years before when he attacked the Eagle's Donovan Mcknabb. If he had attacked Donovan
McKnabb, the quarterback alone, alright. But he injected race by Saying Black quarterbacks aren't
all they're cracked up to be. Well, the LionKing is the quarterback of the American Eagle. you root
for his failure, you root for America's failure. Suddenly he doesn't seem so patriotic. The Templar
now looks like the whiner he's always claimed the "liberal left" to be. And he looks that way
to a much larger audience than his fading fanatics.
So I have a warning to impart to all of those Templars brandishing those longknives: By the way,
he went after Rush because he's the head of the snake. The rest: Ann Coulter, Mike Savage, Sean
Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, They Guy With The Hat, Selbe Steele, Ward Connnally, Alan Keyes and Clarence
Thomas. The LionKing may be a son of AfricaEast, but he was nurtured in AfricaWest. He'll go Brer
Rabbit on in a hot minute. Ask Alice Palmer. All Hillary Clinton. A commentor at one of the debates asked why he had so many Clinton advisors if it was time for a change. Hillary burst out
laughing. "I want to hear the answer to that one" He turned to her and with his best Brer Rabbit
mask in place said, "I'm looking forward to having you advise me too," DIDN'T THAT COME TO PASS?
Don't try to match wits with him, you're only half equipped.
I also have a warning for BlackAmerica. Let's try not to be so thinskinned. You're moving the Lion
King into that Messenger category. Remember when you couldn't in any way crit Elijah Muhammed?
Jon Stewart did a routine on Joseph Lowery and the storm raged. I didn't hear those same guys
when Sarah Palin was being impaled. (I had the largest stick) In New York, a pastry shop introduced
a cookie, in bad taste no doubt, called "Drunken Negro Face" Whoa! The no justice, no peace crowd
was furious. This same shop produced a parody of Sully and geese. That's what that store does.
parody. It didn't bother the LionKing. He was preoccupied with two wars and a dying economy.
I sure hope SoulDoctor is right about the LionKing being seen as a BlackAmerican success and a counter to the thug image. (Here's a good one. SoulDoctor reporting about countering Thug in the
land where Thuggee originated. I believed they were followers of Kali) In the category of
is there deitification going on here, all the newspapers are advertising the LionKing Gold Leaf
2 dollar bills. Actually, it seems like somebody's trying to cash in on all of the europhia.
"I never thought I'd see the day" has become a great refraim lately. Well, Bobby Kennedy did.
So did Martin Luther King. He figured it would have been around 1992. Funny. I thought about
it long and hard. The LionKing did see it and himself filling the roll. And here's why: He is
a son of AfricaEast. in 1709, BlackAmericans would never have seen the end of slavery coming.
That "never see the day" became an ingrained part of our history. Here's where it serves
the LionKing not to have had that conditioning. I remember Sonny Liston. He was frightening.
And everybody just knew he was invinicble. Everybody except Muhammed Ali. Everybody else
ran from the room when he entered, Ali walked toward him saying, "Where's he at?"
Similiarly everybody ran from the Clinton machinary, The LionKing said, "Where's it at?"
Finally, India. That's to the SoulDoctor for putting us right there with him. A huge shout out to
Anita Padami, Tulsi Badnarath, Aminata Farna and the rest. Funny. There was a PBS program
highing the route Man trekked from Africa to India. The narrator swore that he was reporting
from the very village where the Africans settled. Behind him were several men and women burnt-of-face. I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this message.
Posted by: BuffaloSoldier | January 28, 2009 at 12:28 PM
BUT THEY HAD TO KEEP OF FIGHTING BuffaloSoldier salutes 1951. Please
forgive typos, and mispellings of names and other things. For example,
"That's" should have been "Thanks" It was pretty dark in the University
library today.
I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this apology.
Posted by: BuffaloSoldier | January 28, 2009 at 01:08 PM
IF THEY WANTED TO BE FREE. BuffaloSoldier salutes Herb Kent. Sometimes we just get to laugh. 62 years ago, the color barrier was broken in sports. The significance of Jackie Robinson's breakthrough had to do with moving BlackAmerica into the mainstream limelight. Baseball was and actually, the true American sport. What about Football or Basketball you might ask. Quick! Sing
the football song. Sing the basketball song. Oh, that's right they don't exist. Baseball is everyman. You don't need a certain body type. You look average but, of course, you're not. But you look assessible to everyman. Shaq and McNabb are invited into our livings as our modern mythic
figures. Philly's Rollins could be sitting beside us eating chips and passing gas. Now we have the LionKing in the National (Democratic) League. So what does the American (Repulsicans) League do?
They do exactly what the American League did 62 years ago. They played "they got one , so we get
one" They acquired their version of Larry Doby ( Mike Tyson's former brother in law, Michael Steele)
Like I said in an earlier post, I can't make this stuff up. Steele is now the head of the RNC.
Here's a problem, Repulsicans. Through no fault of his own, because he was a great player and a
Newark Eagle, Larry Doby is not well known. And the time frame is eerily close. Larry Doby became
the second Black major league player within days of Jackie's inclusion. Within days, Mike Tyson's
former Brother in law, who we're told is well known in Repulsican circles, "beat out" other
candidates to be the main countervoice to the LionKing. I saw the LionKing the day of the announcement. He didn't look a bit threatened. "Show of hands, Kids! Who's the President of The United States of America?" "The LionKing!" "Show of hands, Kids! Who's the President of the RNC?"
"Er, what was the question again?" I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this message
Posted by: BuffaloSoldier | February 04, 2009 at 12:41 PM