Grave marker project helps bury the blues

Blues guitarist Tommy Bankhead rubbed shoulders with some of the genre’s royalty, from Howlin’ Wolf and Elmore James to Albert King and Sonny Boy Williamson.

But visitors to the overgrown St. Louis cemetery where Bankhead was buried more than a decade ago would never know his musical legacy. Or his name.Burying The Blues

Be it neglect, inattention or hard times, Bankhead’s family never added a grave marker to his burial plot. That will soon change thanks to the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit effort to bring belated recognition to long-forgotten blues musicians.

Though the group has posthumously honored musicians as far away as California, its efforts are concentrated in a fertile blues corridor that stretches from the Mississippi Delta through St. Louis, north to Chicago and Michigan.

“These guys gave so much to America via music,” said Aaron Pritchard, the project’s vice president. “They deserve a headstone.”

Pritchard, 33, grew up on rock ‘n’ roll and discovered the St. Louis blues scene after high school but stopped playing music for a living to raise his two small children. A retail manager by day, Pritchard must be equal parts musicologist, cultural historian, archivist and Internet detective for the blues genealogy project.

Several years ago, he met a kindred spirit in Steven Salter of Whitehall, Mich., whose own search for his musical idols began with a detour to the Chicago area while en route to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

After stopping at the graves of McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, and Chester Burnett (aka Howlin’ Wolf), Salter found an unmarked grave for blues pianist Otis Spann. A letter bemoaning Spann’s fate to a blues magazine ignited a successful fundraiser and convinced Salter to launch the headstone project in 2008.

“I figured if I didn’t get to see them while they were alive, I could at least stop by their gravesites and pay my respects,” the 62-year-old said. “When I got there, there was nothing but a piece of grass.”

While heartfelt, the project’s efforts remain modest. They have laid 22 headstones, with several more completed but awaiting placement. The flat grave markers cost between $300 and $400 each and are engraved with the artist’s dates of birth and death, along with images of keyboards, saxophones, musical notes or guitars.

There’s no shortage of candidates: The project’s website lists another two dozen late musicians whose earthly whereabouts are unknown. And Pritchard carries a dog-eared reference book that lists the vital statistics of more than 1,400 blues players, organized by state.

The headstone project follows the path of earlier efforts like the Mount Zion Memorial Fund, which emerged two decades ago when the Mississippi church where blues legend Robert Johnson was buried faced foreclosure. Record label executives and musicians such as John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt led the efforts to honor Johnson, James and other prominent names.

The Killer Blues project, by contrast, tends to seek out the less famous sidemen, musicians such as Bankhead, a fixture on the St. Louis blues scene who nonetheless had to make ends meet by also working as a sheriff’s deputy and a security guard. Several appreciative family members, including his youngest daughter and her two children, attended an October benefit concert to raise money for Bankhead’s marker.

“I really appreciate what they’re doing for the people,” said Willette Hare, who dated Bankhead. “I thought it was marvelous.”

In early December, the project honored Aaron “Pinetop” Sparks, a hard-living boogie-woogie piano player credited with writing the standard “Every Day I Have the Blues” before his death in 1935 at age 27. Sparks’ grave was unmarked for another 78 years before Pritchard laid a stone at a historically black cemetery in suburban St. Louis.

While some of the project’s graveside ceremonies lead to late-night jam sessions, the Sparks service was somber and simple, with only Pritchard, the cemetery superintendent and several reporters present.

Once the stone was secured, Pritchard placed his iPhone on the ground, Sparks’ signature rollicking song filling the silence.

Complete Article HERE!

Causes of death

This is pretty interesting…

 

causes of death

 

“I love this graph because it shows that while the number of people dying from communicable diseases is still far too high, those numbers continue to come down. In fact, fewer kids are dying, more kids are going to school and more diseases are on their way to being eliminated. But there remains much to do to cut down the deaths in that yellow block even more dramatically. We have the solutions. But we need to keep the up support where they’re being deployed, and pressure to get them into places where they’re desperately needed.”
– Bill Gates is Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Holly’s Dilemma

“Can’t you see I’m starving? I have needs too, you know. For as much love as I get from you, I could be living on the moon. Are we ever going to resume our sex life? Because if I wanted to live like a nun I woulda joined a convent. Your sex aversion is making me sick.”

 

I want to introduce you to my friend, Holly, (not her real name). She is 43. She had a double mastectomy three years ago and has been cancer-free since. She’s a graphic artist, shares a home with her partner (now wife) of ten years, Jean, and their teenage daughter Annie.

black-woman-braidsA beautiful smile radiates from Holly’s full mocha-colored face. Oodles of thick jet-black braids spring from her head as from a fountain gone mad. She is forever brushing one or another of them from her face as she speaks. Her frequent laughter is like music, making her whole body dance and shake, but her levity masks a somberness and apprehension that is very troubling to her.

She tells me; “I often become consumed with worries about getting sick again. My fears can turn into a paralyzing dread that takes days and sometimes weeks to shake. I know that until I can accept the possibility of my own death, I’ll never be able to embrace all the great things that are right in front of me.”

Later in our conversation she says;

“Ok, so if ya wanna know the truth, I’m dealing with some big-time body issues. The mastectomy really scarred me psychologically as well as physically. I didn’t realize the dimensions of all of this until I had finished the chemo and radiation I was doing. For a good six months after the surgery, I was so sick from all that poison that the thought of sex of any kind made me nauseous. I didn’t even want to have Jean in the same bed with me. It was awful.

Over time the nausea diminished and I was able to resume some semblance of intimacy with Jean. We were able to be close and do some touching, like sitting on the couch holding hands while watching TV, just as long as it wasn’t sexual.

Then a couple of months ago, Jean and I had this big blowout. We were screaming and yelling about God only knows what when she finally blurts out; ‘Can’t you see I’m starving? I have needs too, you know. For as much intimacy as I get from you, I could be living on the moon. Are we ever going to resume our sex life? Because if I wanted to live like a nun I woulda joined a convent. Your sex aversion is making me sick.’

The intensity and ferocity of Jean’s outburst blew me away. I had completely forgotten about her needs. I know I still love her, of course, but after the surgery I didn’t feel whole. I didn’t feel like a woman, know what I mean?

When things simmered down a bit, I think Jean could tell she wounded me deeply, she said; ‘I’m doing this as much for you as I am for myself. You gotta deal with this, babe.’

Jean was right! I was starving too, but I was too afraid and ashamed to admit it. We’ve made some lame attempts to move past the status quo since then, but it’s still not like the old days.

My God, in the old days Jean and I were like wild women, letting it all hang out. Some of that was lesbian pride, but it was also a kind of in-your-face protest. We were both like; ‘These are my breasts, damnit! Get over it!’ I don’t see how I can ever regain that.

I mean, how can I make a gift of myself to someone if I’m not feeling much like I’m a treasure? I still have shame about losing my breasts. I’m not a whole person anymore.”

“Hold on there, Holly. Where did you lose your breasts, at the laundromat? You didn’t lose your breasts. You had cancer. They were surgically removed to save your life. There’s no shame in that! To think otherwise is self-defeating.

breast cancer

Besides, it doesn’t sound like Jean thinks of you as damaged goods at all. You’re still attracted to her, right?

That’s what I thought. Well then, you’re just gonna have to let your love for one another heal you of your shame and self-doubt. You are no less a woman without your breasts. I wonder, have you ever taken the time to grieve the loss of your breasts? Could you go to Jean and ask her to hold you while you weep for what is no longer yours?

Your shame is indeed getting in the way of you reconnecting with Jean. But Jean is your life partner and this is part of life. Share it with her. Don’t try to carry this alone.”

Holly countered; “But I have this completely non-existent sex drive. The first couple of months after the chemo and radiation, I would have this weird feeling when Jean would try to be close to me. It was like being on a bad acid trip or something. I felt as though my body was there with her but I wasn’t. I felt nothing. My headspace was totally different from how it was before I got sick. I would lie there thinking, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening? Will I ever feel normal again? How many more opportunities will I have to be with Jean like this before I die? Why don’t I feel what I used to feel?”

I said, “Well, for one thing, you were fighting for your life back then, right? That’s bound to alter a person’s perceptions a bit, wouldn’t you say?

healing touch

Listen; can I suggest that you have a heart-to-heart talk with Jean about your concerns? Tell her what you are telling me. Just be sure that you have this conversation at some neutral time, not during an intimate moment. This way you could speak freely about what you are thinking and feeling without fear of Jean misinterpreting your comments as sexual rejection. How does that sound to you?”

“But what if I screw this up?” What if this somehow scars Jean for the rest of her life? I don’t what that to happen. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. I’m afraid something bad might happen and that’s why I’m frozen in place.”

“There are ways to overcome this stalemate, Holly. First, you need to reassure Jean that you are committed to working through this impasse with her. I think she needs some assurance that you haven’t given up. And in return you could ask her for her patience, because the process may be a slow one. One thing for sure, you’re gonna have to give her some sort of timeline; otherwise you may find yourself putting this off indefinitely. And that won’t do.

I recommend that the two of you begin to explore what is possible now in your sex life together. Avoid comparing what you are able to do now with how things were in the past. Keep the exploration simple and open-ended. And I suggest that you don’t create a goal to be achieved. That’s where most people in your situation go wrong. Keep you exploration moving forward, of course, but also try to keep it open-ended.

You guys might start with some cuddling and spoon breathing. Do you know what that is? It’s a great exercise! I highly recommend it.

Here’s what you do lay on your side next to one another like two spoons—Jean’s front to your back. Then try to match one another’s breathing pattern. First Jean will try to match your breathing pattern then you guys could switch position—your front to her back, and you could try to match her breathing pattern. This exercise can be done with or without clothing. You will be amazed at how comforting this will be for you both. It’s the ideal place to start rebuilding a sense of confidence about being physically together.

sleep_09

As time goes on, your spoon breathing embraces could become more adventuresome. When you are feeling up to it, take one of Jean’s hands in one of your own hands and guide it over your body in a way that feels pleasurable and comfortable for you. You could show her the kind of stroke and pressure that is desirable for you. This will be a very effective way of reestablishing a threshold for what is possible between the two of you now as well as moving forward.

Guided-hand sensual touch like this can be expanded to include genitals if and when you ready. You could help educate Jean on how to pleasure you in a way that would allow you to be more of a passive recipient rather than an active participant in your lovemaking if that’s what you want.

I suspect that these two exercises will be a good place for you and Jean to start the non-verbal communication that is just as essential as having that chat that I mentioned earlier. The only other suggestions I have to offer are these: keep these exercises playful and honor your limits.

Maybe you could get back to me in a few weeks and let me know how it goes.”