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December 2013 ~ HAPPY NEW YEAR; REMEMBERING MUM AND DAD
Once again the incredibility of the
internet has surpassed itself tonight; for me, at least. Whilst casually dithering in my garage and
listening to CBC radio (Canada’s version of the BBC) I realised that I was
listening to a show about Paul Simon and his album ‘Graceland’. As one does (on more occasions than willing
to admit), the mind leap-frogs from one thought to another thought... and so
one. The short story; I ended up here after a little bit of clicking of the proverbial mouse. Which, in turn, inspired me to write.
It is 1978. My parents have returned from Nigeria and I
am home on leave. My dad was working on
a contract in Nigeria and he loved it. This was very clear; I mean he really loved
it! For a man that played his cards very
close to his chest, the unbridled joy that could be literally heard from the
gleam in his eyes, when regaling me of his time in Nigeria, was more than
self-evident. He would play his album,
Ipi Tombi, constantly. I never got out
there, but my sister, Joyce, did. I was
serving in the Royal Air Force in, what was, West Germany, at the time. As mentioned in my very first blog (Tuesday,
8 May 2012 ~ ABBREVIATE OR AMPLIFY?) about my mum’s passing, I brought home her
life; her photographs and her music.
That music, of course, was also my dad’s music. One of those albums was Ipi Tombi; a 1974
musical by South African writer Bertha Egnos Godfrey, and her daughter, Gail
Lakier, telling the story of a young black man leaving both his village and his
young wife to go and work in the mines of Johannesburg. The album originated from a marvellous musical
show. The show was originally called The
Warrior, and I think it may have been a variety of South(?) African indigenous
musical styles, but I’m no expert. The
link I have inserted above is the musical track called The Warrior. I cannot speak of the lyrics with any
professionalism; but I can speak of the music and how, at just 20 years old, I
could understand how my father was moved by its rhythm. It was the reason that I bought Graceland, by
Paul Simon, in the 1980’s.
Perhaps it is because of the time of
year; New Year’s Eve beckons, and who doesn’t dwell in some sort of reflection
at such a time? I know I do, and I do
often; not just because of New Year. So
here I am, suddenly caught in a moment of emotional nostalgia. It is joyous and painful at the same time. Because getting older means that the ‘elders’
are diminishing and people of my generation have to fill their ‘shoes’, as will
those behind us in years to come.
My parents have long since left us. So here is my message to anyone that’s still
reading; listen to this musical track that I have linked to this blog. You may not enjoy it but I hope it prompts
you to take stock of who’s around you; whether that be an annoying parent or
relative or neighbour. Remember that the
young man in this song is leaving his ‘home’.
Take one more look at someone; only this time, take a photograph. Make sure to develop that photograph in your
mind and also in your heart; if you’re really lucky it may become a video.
There are many people I miss that are
no longer with us. But I have to tell
you that on this night, on this 364th day of 2013, I would love to
be sitting next to my dad whilst listening to Ipi Tombi’s The Warrior at
maximum volume and wait for my mum to come in to the room and tell us to “turn
that bloody noise down”.
Happy New Year! Take your photograph(s)… and turn up the
volume.
