Ketty Lester "Love Letters"

Ketty Lester

Another beautiful day in Bahrain

Hello Jazzlovers,

My unpacking has been very slow by choice, due to making my decision to lighten my load. Some of the work is mindless, on the other hand, some of it is like a trip down memory lane. I have only loved Intimately 5 people in my life and I have been finding little things from each of them,(smile) and thinking of each of them, I have caught myself writing mental love letters to them. The interesting thing about these love letters is that the focus is on the things that brought us together rather than the things that tore us apart ( it is so good getting emotions out of the way) I did remain friends with them, except for the last one.( but that is a blog all by it's self.....)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aTLurY3gw


This song "Love Letters" kept running through my head and I caught myself singing it under my breath.I had not thought of this song in years!! Some of you might remember Ketty Lester as Helen Grant on "Days Of Our Lives in the 1970, but I remember her from this song and my stepmother remembered her music. I found this album in the Woolworth's bargin bin years ago while I was in university and played it over and over although I have not listened to it in years it remains part of my favorites in music.. Here is a 2002 live version...Love Letters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuZvb51Xwjw


Trivia Days of Our Lives had the first interracial kiss on a Soap Opera...Ketty Lester was the daughter of a farmer, she was born in Hope, Arkansas August 16, 1934 , one of a family of 15 children, and first sang in her church and school choirs. She won a scholarship to study music at San Francisco State College, and in the early 1950s began performing under the name Ketty Lester in the city's Purple Onion club. She later appeared as a contestant on the game show You Bet Your Life, and toured Europe as a singer with Cab Calloway's orchestra
Here is one I remember from 1965..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtM0_zEmPY&feature=related

Ketty Lester gave up singing commercially, and turned to acting. She was reportedly offered the role eventually taken by Diahann Carroll in the 1968 TV series Julia, and appeared in a variety of movies including Up Tight! (1968), Blacula (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). She established herself as a television actress in the 1970s and 1980s, playing the roles of 'Helen Grant' in the soap opera, Days of our Lives from 1975 to 1977, and 'Hester-Sue Terhune' on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie from 1978 to 1983, as well as making short appearances in many other series. But for me I loved her music.. "Here is Deep Purple"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_5i19hrCs&feature=related


Music has always played an important place in my life, because Music knows how I feel...Living in the now makes the past so clear. When looking back at ramicications of past actions are viewed without emotional baggage it is amazing what you see....

Well jazzlover in signing off on a love letter I think it very fitting to end with Ketty Leaster 1962 recording of "P.S. I Love You"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61n-NoYKEGE&feature=related


Well Jazzlover until Next time,

Keep the beat.....

Oh one more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfa5uCjpouA&feature=related


DWJazzLover

The Power of Now and Plato or What's Love Got to Do With It?

A State Of Mind

Another Beautiful Day In Bahrain

Hello JazzLovers,

A lot of my friends and I have been having conversations about life and love! I have noticed that in the conversation we have been talking about the past or what would they would like in the future but nothing about right now....We dwell in ramifications of past events or create future events in our minds, anything to keep us out of right now....when we do this we are missing a beautiful time ! we are missing right now..... We are missing the beauty of ourselves just as we are now..until we get intouch with who we really are, we will never know love!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKqn-aCL4KU&feature=player_embedded

In this search for love we often lose ourselves, Sister Toldja in her blog helped me to put into words the things I have been thinking of., we give our power to others and then live reliving the ramifications of those decisions and when not doing that we plan our future loves and create a dream situation for that love which is imposible to achieve..That is because most of us are in love with the idea of love! We really have no idea of what love really is...Trust me on that one! We go into relationships looking at the end of that relationship!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgpybP5QhKU

In Plato "The Symposium" (One of my favorite reads) it is stated " Love has no parent!", that hit me as truth! Every other emotion has a parent and can be taught and described, Anger, hate, sadness, heartache, and pain  we can describe! But ask someone to describe Love! everyone can tell you what love is like, but no one can describe what love is....Plato got it right! I recommend reading the book.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz2cUX0CNA8

Jazzlovers as you know by now I never comment  on the picture I use here but they all have a message...I pass this trash can everyday and it amazes me that trash is placed everywhere but where it should be...Isn't that a lot like what our lives are like? One of my favorite bloggers Kellybelle (Emhpatha) spotlights depression and I respect her highly for this....but I am a solution based person, we can not keep talking about the problem without talking about the solution! (we must put the trash in the trash can) Cleaning 101! Depression is real and the ramifications can be the lost of a beautiful soul like Korean model Daul Kim, 20 this week in paris..

http://www.dubaisitgirl.com/2009/11/rip-daul-kim.html

You know Jazzlovers it is still about the Music, yet at the same time are we really listening to the music? I am so grateful to my 9th grade English Teacher Mr. Floyd Coleman, he really brought me to this moment....We clashed the first day of class!!!!!!!(for reasons I will go into in a future blog because it truly is a part of my story) But it was a weekend assignment, we were Conjugating ! verbs and he gave each of us on Friday a word to completly conjugate on Monday!!!!Everyone in the class got easy words, He gave me the verb "to be"( can any of you conjugate it now?) now Jazzlovers I lived in the Country and we were not allowed in the library in those days, but it was no way I was going to class on Monday without knowing how to conjugate that  word!!! (Ramifications of things past) it's importance today is that the first conjugation (1st person present) of the word to be is "I Am"! Powerful message,Now is very important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQ7iCXhTAo&feature=related

Jazzlovers let yesterday only be a reference book! The future will take care of it's self and living in the now is the most beautiful place to be....Right now please just stop thinking for a moment, just breath,feel your breath, now listen to sounds around you, identify them all, look around you what do you see? don't think about it, don't analize it, just see or hear it,place no thoughts on it,just be!Feel the stillness in yourself! Isn't it beautiful? That is the real you.......and in that moment there is clarity. At this moment I remember the poem "If" I first read this poem in the 8th grade...Thanks Mr. Sibley..

http://www.adamandtiffy.com/blog/if-by-rudyard-kipling

Jazzlovers when you get to that quiet place, when you experience the stillness, when you are intouch with your core, there you will find you ! Then you are ready for love, for you will Recognize The beauty of the Universe and your unique place in it...You will Know love............This would be the perfect place to put Nancy Wilson singing " I have never been to me" but darnit I can not find it on You Tube.........But i did find it by the Temptations so enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tBd2Tn3seI&feature=related

The Creator of this universe does not make Mistakes so why spend time thinking of things you are not instead of Celebrating all the wonderful ways you are you !!!!! And Jazzlovers that's "What loves got to do with it" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0pOAVGvePQ

Well Jazz Lovers until next time....

Keep the beat!!!!

DW Jazzlover...

P/S Kellybelle, I am looking for a poem I wrote when I was totally lost in Depression that I want to share with you, but alas it is not wanting to be found..It is also the title of my book " Screaming in a sound proof booth" !

PP/S Dubai It Girl, Thank you, you were the inspiration for this blog entry.

D.W.