Greetings,
Man, what a weekend it’s been. I think I had the opportunity
to experience the majority of the human emotions (the overwhelming majority of
which were very positive) over the course of the past few days.
On Friday, my day began with a panic attack (I won’t go into
detail about why). I managed to back it off and settle into my day. Pretty much
after that, things turned around completely. The energy around me was great, I
had fun, and I was really excited about having the opportunity to bring The
Speakeasy event back to fruition.
I made my way down to Patten
Parkway at 5:40
to set up, and I was pleasantly surprised with everything that was taking
place. There were bands playing, a makeshift skate park had been setup, an
array of food trucks were parked and doing business, etc. It truly was a sight.
When I made my way to Cadence, though, I realized that I had
to do more work than I anticipated in order to get us ready to roll for
Speakeasy. What should’ve taken ten minutes tops ended up taking about thirty
minutes due to some unforeseen technical issues. These things happen, but in
the moment, they can be VERY frustrating. However, once I managed to work
everything out and people started showing up, it was all good.
We started at 7 o’clock
on the nose and had a full list. That old magic was alive again. I had such a
great time being able to run sound and facilitate the night. It was amazing to
see some of our oldest patrons read and meet some of the newest poets I’ve come
into contact with. The whole thing put a smile on my face, and we had a
beautiful time.
Since its inception, Speakeasy has really been my church. It
has been my sanctuary. It has absolutely meant the world to me and continues to
resonate. I truly realize how incredibly fortunate I’ve been.
Last night, we had the MANIFEST: Jazz Poetics event. It’s
always a pleasure to hear The Undoctored Originals play. They’re phenomenal
musicians as well as genuinely humble and nice men. We collaborated on a little
improv piece, which was big fun. I’m sure that some audio and video will be
appearing from last night in the very near future. When it does, I will gladly
shoot the information out for those of you who couldn’t be there.
Well gang, that’s all I’ve got for now. Be good, and make
sure to enjoy the rest of the day.
Blessings