Struttin' with some BBQ

4.7.07

Louis Armstrong's birthday was August 4th, but he always celebrated it on July 4th. He was showy like that. Today being his "chosen" birthday had me thinking about Louis and how grateful I am that he was. Without Louis, well, who knows where music would be. Remember at the end of the movie "Manhattan" when Woody Allen's character Ike goes through his list-of-things-that-make-life-worth-living? His list included Sentimental Education by Flaubert, Cezanne's Apples and Pears and Louis Armstrong's "Potato Head Blues". My list? My list is full of things and people that were created in America. From the sublime to the ridiculous, I adore them all.

Woody Allen's one of them. Jazz. Baseball. The Yankees. Colonel Sanders. George Gershwin. Aaron Sorkin. Coffee with chickory. Apple computers. The Chrysler Building. The New York Times. Maureen Dowd. Target. Bath & Bodyworks. The Muppets. Starbucks. Spike Lee. Steve Allen. Norman Granz. Mel Brooks. Sondheim. Dorothy Parker. The Marx Bros. Charles M Schulz. Terence Blanchard. David and Amy Sedaris. My Blogger Friends - Greeny, Trish, CeCe, CitygirlUSA, LittleBirdBlue, SoMuchSugar and so many more.

I get frustrated with our neighbours to the South sometimes. I've been frustrated with them a lot lately. Why did they let their government get hijacked like they did? Why is the media mute about everything they should be shouting about? Why are civil rights stalled over and over again for the black community, for women, for the gay community? I am frustrated mostly because I know what a good country America is. How smart and giving and kind the people are. I hope that they take the opportunity to make this, their 231st year, a year of change. I hope they speak up and work towards taking their country back. I hope they conduct themselves in a way that reminds the rest of the world that they are a country made of citizens who have integrity and warmth. The world needs to be reminded of that right now.

Also on my list-of-things-that-make-life-worth-living is Louis Armstrong's recording on "Struttin' with some BBQ". I hope all of my American Friends are doing just that today.

Happy 4th.


5 comments :

  1. I am thankful to our chums south of the 49th parallel for:

    The idea behind the American Revolution - that a man can stand up.

    Barbecue and waldorf salad, Erle Stanley Gardner and Sharyn McCrumb, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, Broadway, Ice Cream Parlors, Oliver Hardy, Bing Crosby, and Randolph Scott ridin' the trail alone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3:34 PM

    I agree with you, neighbor - add my shout-out to all, especially Dorothy Parker! And, I am going to put my iPod on a Louis Armstrong loop right now.

    I am hopeful, and glad, that you know not ALL of us here agree with this asinine government of ours, that many of us find it SICKENING.

    I feel like I might live in a kind of vacuum/cocoon here in San Francisco sometimes... it is so difficult for us here to believe so many other parts of the country voted for such a horrid person/people. We can hardly fathom it without throwing up.

    So some of us do fight and work for civil, gay, and women's rights... And for the media to project some kind of REALITY.

    But it's so fucking hard. Everything is so corrupt up there in Washington, and everyone is so greedy and self-righteous.

    But we will keep trying, working once again for the next election. Thanks for keeping some faith in us!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. After the crazy, emotional, and pissy day I've had talking about social responsibility and such I will say only this. I want a chosen birthday!!! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for liking us anyway, Miss T.

    Celebrated yesterday by going to a baseball game. It made so much sense to me--that's why I love baseball. The current government, on the other hand...

    ReplyDelete
  5. That last comment? It's not Spanish. It's SPAMISH! Ba-da-ba-bada- DA!!!!!!

    I'm here all week.

    Caftan Woman - enjoyed your list MUCHO.

    Yanks - hope you enjoyed your 4th.

    xo

    ReplyDelete

Proudly designed by | mlekoshiPlayground |