lord, help the poor+needy

earlier today i was heading down tchoupitoulas windows down, fresh cool air balancing the warmth of the sun and filled with the sounds of wwoz sunday. slightly lifted i used the particularly perfect blend of sensory stimulation to process+defragment+clear my mind until jessie mae hemphill got my complete attention with this song. simply soulful+hopeful+beautiful. i remained caught in oz's vibe as they went straight into old crow's motel in memphis and i suddenly realised they were praising dr. king. two terrific songs motivated me to want to remember the moment and the tracks to add to a playlist so as traffic backup and i come full stop i pull notebook+pen to jot song titles beneath the others. i drifted a bit closer to the highway before getting to put pen to paper and as i was writing the words "help the poor+needy" i noticed a man approaching with cupped hands outreached. he had no cardboard sign or catch phrase; just a pleasant smile and outreached hands. lord, help the poor+needy. i gave him the 5dollars i had on me and wished him no trouble and safe travels.

while i mention wwoz, it seems that this city's noise ordinance on live music as been postponed once again; if you weren't there the city council protest and mock hearing was pretty powerful on friday. a noise ordinance in the birthplace of jazz? it's as ridiculous as the premise of footloose. dance good while you can.