It’s Apparent, Little one

by Mike Rosen

Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
The way it’s unusual that some rooms are like cages

I’m rediscovering Paul Simon’s 1990 album ‘Rhythm of the Saints’. It was his eighth solo album and the lead single The Apparent Little one makes me sing alongside, each time. Listening, singing, listening, singing, ideally each at excessive volumes. From the opening staccatos of the drum rhythms, that tune has held a particular place for me for over 3 many years, I don’t know exactly why, it simply does. I’ll attempt to clarify.

Sonny’s yearbook from highschool
Is down from the shelf
And he idly thumbs by means of the pages

Ten years after that album was launched I had the chance to journey to Brazil for an prolonged trip,  I had by no means been in a foreign country prior. The ten-hour flight to Sao Paulo approached with a transparent view of the town. 12 million individuals. Mile after mile after mile of favelas– impoverished areas, slums, for lack of a greater time period. Dwellings constructed from something and all the things, actually on prime of each other. Staggering. I had by no means seen such in depth city density and poverty. For a child who grew up in middle-class, midwest, lillywhite suburbia, it was and stays an extremely awe-inspiring sight and reminiscence. I hadn’t even set foot in Brazil and I used to be already at a loss from what I had seen. My Brazilian journey had solely begun and continued with time in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia.

Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from right here to get there

Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia, was integrated within the late 1500’s and about 3 million individuals reside there. Geographically it’s about as far east as you may go in Brazil and to today nonetheless maintains a powerful African-Portuguese affect because of its location and historical past as a serious port of immigration. Strolling round Salvador I used to be amazed and overwhelmed by all of it. The sights, sounds, and smells. The meals, topography, colours, and historical past. All of it vibrant and the antithesis of suburban Chicago.

We came across a historic sq. named Pelourinho Sq.. Within the heart are the identical steps and the whipping posts the place slaves from Africa had been purchased, bought, publicly crushed, and whipped for alleged infractions. I don’t know so much about spirituality or mysticism or increased powers and I do know merely being in that house, studying tales of slaves and their households, attempting to grasp and picture all of the souls that had handed by means of that exact house for hundreds of years moved me to tears within the second, reflecting on the reminiscence now does the identical. One thing about that house exuded a way of deep connection and peace, oddly juxtaposed with the heartbreak and horror of its historical past.  It’s laborious for me to articulate the expertise totally and clearly.

Sonny wanders past his inside partitions
Runs his hand by means of his thinning brown hair

The opening African/Brazilian drum rhythms of The Apparent Little one had been recorded in Pelourinho Sq.. Microphones had been strung from home windows and phone poles to seize the pure sounds, rhythms, and power of that distinctive house. I hadn’t made that connection on the time of my go to and need I might have been there to listen to it recorded.

The tune discusses growing old and mortality and I’m utilizing it as an invite to replicate alone. This reflection, which helps to tell gratitude round my abundance, jogs my memory of the various cases the place time, place, and music have come collectively to create a non secular second. I’m fortunate to have had many of those moments and I’m grateful to have cultivated an consciousness to note them because it’s occurring. Have you ever had moments like this? Locations, instances, connections to artwork, music, books or a film which have moved you, made an indelible mark, created an affiliation or reminiscence that’s lasted for many years? I’d love to listen to considered one of yours. Please share within the Feedback part under!

And in remembering a highway signal
I’m remembering a woman after I was younger
And we stated these songs are true
Today are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is within the ballpark
The cross is within the ballpark
Why deny the plain baby?

About Mike Rosen

Mike has been a part of MenLiving because the first 2012 assembly in Todd’s front room and helps lead the weekly Separation/Divorce help calls. He teaches 4th Grade, loves to maneuver (run, bike, yoga, repeat.), struggles to completely comprehend the dimensions of our photo voltaic system, is happiest when he’s laughing together with his household, and is an unapologetic fan of Huey Lewis and the Information. As a divorced father of three younger males, Jack(19), Keil and Sam (twin 17yr olds), a big portion of his abundance is discovered sharing a blended household with Kelly and her kids, Evan(19) and Ella(16). He lives in LaGrange, IL, a Chicago suburb.

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