Reasons

School ended in May, and only now, June 22nd, am I beginning to relax into summer. Actually, what am I saying… I am in no way relaxed. Things are happening all around that are causing stress, fear and discomfort. I guess a better way of putting it is that I am beginning to observe that summer is upon us. One annoying summer activity will include getting a tooth implant in a front tooth, this after spending the farm on veneers. Oh, and a root canal a few months ago. My poor teeth have always caused problems. Thankfully, I only have 20 of them. Is it any wonder that I created Braceface? Maybe my next kids’ show should be Root Canal Kids or The Oral Surgery Sillies. I am dreading this pending tooth surgery and just so bummed that I’ll have to wear a false tooth for at least 3 months while everything heals. If I look grouchy when you see me, don’t take it personally… I’m just trying to keep my mouth shut.

But I digress…

I wanted to tell a fun and funny story: About 12 years ago, I was on a plane flying to NYC to attend my best friend’s son’s bar mitzvah in Connecticut. I was booked at a hotel, sharing a room with my best friend’s sister. We were warned that the hotel was gonna be a bit chaotic due to an annual fundraiser in the town that was happening there.

Anyway, on my flight over, as I was storing things in the overhead bins, I noticed a bunch of musicians entering my section (coach) and storing instruments in the compartments. There were at least 8 of them. I took my seat and overheard another passenger telling a musician, “Hey! Nice to see you, I’m a huge fan.” I craned my neck to get a closer look, but I couldn’t identify them.

Now, I’m a music freak. If a celebrity is walking down the street, I’ll barely notice, but if I see a musician in the wild, I go nuts, get tongue-tied, lose language, etc. (Once, at the same best friend’s sweet 16 party, I rode the elevator with members of THE CLASH - me and Joe Strummer in an elevator and I thought I was going to throw up!) All the musicians were sitting behind me and I heard snippets of conversations, but nothing identifying who they were. At one point, someone asked for their autograph, another for a picture. The plane landed without me having a clue of who they were. I took a car service to Connecticut and the weekend began.

The little boy I met the day he was born was becoming a MAN. And we had a blast celebrating him. Dinners and brunches and the beautiful service and dancing, and by the time we wobbled back to the hotel, feet aching, the fundraiser we heard about was in full swing.

There was a band playing in an outdoor space, and my friend and I snuck in and sat at an empty table. It was empty because everyone was on the dance floor. The band was rocking. And the lead singer, a woman, was electric. I would have sworn it was Aretha Franklin, but this singer was young. Our feet hurt so much, but we couldn’t just sit. We stood at the table and bopped along. I looked closely at the band. The horn player looked familiar. So did the drummer. Wait, so did the singer! These were the men from my flight! Oh my God they were incredible! I screamed to my friend, “I was just on a plane with them! Who are they?” and then at the same time we both realized the woman was Jennifer Hudson, and when they launched into the next song, we realized the band was Earth, Wind and Fire!!!

My first thought: They fly coach?

My second thought: Have I died and gone to musical heaven?

We joined the fundraising crowd on the dance floor for September. It was a night I’ll never forget.

I thought about this while watching the fabulous documentary on the band, on HBO and directed by Questlove. Have you seen it yet? It’s got to be one of the top 3 music docs that I’ve ever seen. The music! The characters! They sure don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Well, dear reader, that is the end of my story. Just felt like getting it out on “paper”. And I just heard of the passing of music legend Clive Davis. RIP.

Hey, on another note. if you’ve had a chance to read my new novel, “Force of Nature,” could you give it a review on Amazon or Goodreads? It’s an ask, I’m aware, but apparently these things matter. Please and thank you!!

I hope summer is summering for you. No tooth drama. Lots of music and dancing.

xo

mc