Odetta

Written June 2001

And then Odetta. She had me in tears for about 10 minutes. She started out her set, sitting on her chair, looking all stately and royal and elegant and approachable at the same time. She said, I have something I want to read to you because every child and young person needs to hear it. Then she said, no I think everyone regardless of their age needs to hear it. And she read a part of nelson mandella's inauguration speech outloud.

I couldn't believe it because I had only heard this bit a couple of months ago - I read it on someone's web site in the beginning of april. It moved me so much that I copied it down and put it on my own web site that very day. Those are the only places I had ever read it or even seen it. And there was Odetta saying it to the whole crowd. I had tears in my eyes.

And then she started to sing "this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine / this little light of mine / I'm going to let it shine / this little light of mine / I'm going to let it shine / let it shine / let it shine / let it shine.

Only, she wasn't planning on singing it all by herself. She stopped the song about 10 seconds into it and she let us know how it was going to be. It was really moving. I already had tears in my eyes and live oak is an emotional place for me. They started streaming down my cheeks.

And all I could think about is my good fortune in having certain books and thoughts and support just drop into my lap since April. I am so fortunate and I really know that.

It was serendipity, I think. Synchronicity. It was beautiful. After an amazing set that finished much much too early, Odetta closed her set singing the same song and again, we all joined in (in fact had our own solos) and by then the singing was much more loud and beautiful.

That was from back in the day when I hand-coded each of my blog posts, only we called in Online Journal in those days. :)

Overheard

Me: Odetta was amazing.
(pause)
Me: Did you know she had a very poor daughter?
Steve: No.
Me: Indebta.
(pause)
Me: She also had another daughter. A mean one. Vindetta.
Steve: And the daughter she couldn't remember?
Me: Fo-getta!
Steve: And the one on the Simpson's...
Me: ??
Steve: D'oh-getta.
Me. No. (stern face)
Pause.
Me: Did you know one of her daughters was in a Spike Lee movie?
Steve: Ho-getta?
Me: No! Mo-Betta!
Steve: And Ho-getta.
Me: (shakes head)....