THURSDAY THOUGHTS

We walked to Waxie Maxie’s.

We walked back home—north on South Capitol Street, until it turned to Nichols Avenue.

(By the way, Nichols Avenue is now known as MLK. That’s how long ago it was.)

We couldn’t wait to read the liner notes, and put the vinyl on the record player.

We played it over and over, until it skipped.

Then, we took that walk again, to buy another one.

Do we count THAT?

Imagine multiplying that, times everybody else who did the same.

What would the numbers be?

Who would surpass who?

Some things can’t be compared—

I mean you could, but why?

Is it about quality or popularity?

Substance or trends?

Some things required deliberate effort, preceded by great expectation and patience 

Now?

Accidental ease.

Why these silly comparisons and competitions with voices that are silent?

Voices that did more with much less?

Voices that didn’t need correcting or tweaking?

Voices that weren’t afraid of going live?

We walked to hear what those voices had to say

And we’re still listening, today, in new ways they never imagined