When we were kids Jessie loved the movie "The Color Purple," she watched it over and over and over. Jessie watched it so much that I actually read the book. Now....the book got a lot of bad press about the negative way that it portrayed African American men. However, I think that it was probably very true to the lifestyle that many people of all races lived during the time period. I don't think that it was a testament to the black man...rather a testament to the inequality that pervaded much of the country until the late 1900s....especially much of the south. However, I believe that the true injustice wasn't the way that the book....and the movie portrayed either men or women...the true injustice was that the movie decided to change the whole entire story and make it a religious testament....and a story that stayed far away from the nature of the book...and the nature of the love affair that was Sug Avery and Miss Celie. Now, this isnt the only movie that I love that did that...."Fried Green Tomatoes" was completely changed...with the love affair taken out of that too. And yet...great movies...and yet we took what we could and identified with what was there...."Towanda,".....because that was all that we were given to identify with then.
Anyway, the movie "The Color Purple" was a very big movie for a ten year old girl. And yet, it was recited...word for word...and checked out over and over. Another testament to the fact that although 3 years younger....Jess was always emotionally older than me. I would have never found interest in a movie like that had she not made me watch it so many times.....so....what is the point of this narrative?
Well....Jess is quite famous for singing "Miss Celie's Blues." She can sing it with the best of them....Baby can sing beautifully....have to get a few drinks in her for her to be comfortable enough to really let it loose. But...when she does...wow! Jess can sing almost anything... but the blues are a favorite for everyone...from everything from Etta James to Billy Holiday..."In her autumn years" But Miss Celies is the request that all of our friends ask for.
I was looking the video up on youtube to put on the front of the profile. And then, I decided to put the song Mandi always requests on the front and put "sister" here......why? ...because of this memory. When Jess was 14 years old her mom let her come and stay with me at my apartment. This was a little funny because her parents were very, very strict...and yet they let her stay for weeks on end....2 hours away...at a teenagers first apt. But, I was very responsible...I guess a little too much...and very (what are the words that jess and my friends use to describe....improperly moral...yeah that is it) anyway, we did drink...but jess drank at home and with her other friends anyway....like I said....she was way more mature than I was. One night I thought it would be fun to take jessie to a coffee house for poetry reading. I was a poet and I thought that I would make jess think that I was terribly artistic because I went to places like coffee shops...wore black...and hung out with artsy people. Well I took her...all dressed up and with her hair perfectly in place....looking like a young version of some movie star....jess was (and is) very...very pretty....but when she was young....wow! Anyway, I was not very cool...poet yes...but cool....no. So, I read my poem. It went over fabulously....of course...I am usually very emotional....so if skill is missing...I kill em with emotion lol. Anyway, I came back through the crowds generous claps... to jess....sitting in a mini skirt and dress sweater. "Wow Carrie that was great," but I don't have to do that right? I can't even write" I smiled...."No, you can just watch everyone...that is o.k. I have another poem that I can do later...you can read it if you want to" Jess looked at the piece of paper..." I don't know...that would be weird." The night went on...I read my second poem...a love poem. "Who did you write that for?" Jess looked at me suspiciously. "I wrote it for you silly." Yes...we were in love....for ever and ever....but, we were both straight....and we never were together (in a love way) until we were in our mid twenties...but the feeling was alway there...pulling our hearts together. Anyway, Jess loved that I wrote a poem for her. She went and gave her name to the guy standing by the stage. "What are you going to do?" You could never tell with Jess....she was a crazy girl. They called her name before she could sit back down....Jess walked up to the stage...sat on the bar stool...in front of a packed room....and with a timid voice said...."Well....I can't write anything...but I was wondering if I could sing you all a song?" I want to sing it to my best friend because I love her with all of my heart." People looked a little nervous...a pretty girl with no music....well anyone that has ever been to kareoke knows what could happen there...but....people yelled "Do it!" Jess gathered herself up....changed the way she was standing (always impersonating) and said, "This song is called Miss Celies Blues....cuz she scratches out my head when I was ailing." She started to sing...and everyone was silent staring up at the very bluesy voice that was coming out of the little blonde white girl....it was strong...southern and sweet....and she sang it to me. We were caught in the moment...alone in front of a full room of pseudo-hippys and dark...sullen poets. She sang it just like sug....without any music....all alone
...Well she was famous for the rest of the night. Guys were asking her out and no one could believe that she was as young as she was....with a voice like that (and....I kept telling the young men...her age...because I didn't like the way they were talking to her....I thought I had to protect her...and keep her safe....and I never understood the feelings that went along with it....untill I was much older...but I know by the way that she acted with all of my friends and boyfriends...that jess felt the very same way...and didn't understand it either)
Anyway, we probably went to Denny's after the poetry readin.... or something else... silly like that. Maybe we went to my apartment and rented movies (always a favorite) but i couldn't stop looking at her. She was famous...
The other night some friends asked her to sing...and lucky for us she was drunk...we didn't have to beg and make asses of ourselves...cuz she wanted to sing...and she sang a whole line of blues....with grand voice and she ended it with "Celies Blues" and, for all of those that couldn't be there...and missed a truly beautiful performance.....
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