Music Is My Sanctuary, Music is My Life
Right about now, I’de be headed over to Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago with fellow “house heads/life-long friends” to my absolutely HANDS DOWN favorite music festival of all time! I wrote this essay several years ago about the experience. My hope is that you get the “flavor” of how special this annual pilgrimage is for me.
One “tie-in” for all of my burned-out peeps in the reading audience. I have learned many things about myself since I retired, some of which I share here on this Blog because I think it helps some of you out there. One very IMPORTANT thing that I have learned is movement (dancing to Disco for me, yoga to many others) is an evidenced-based way to heal.
I heal and have always healed myself by dancing …….. especially to Disco. I hope that everyone reading this today can join in.
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July 2, 2017
(written on the plane, w/ my god-daughter sleeping on my lap).
Gratitude for Disco, old friends,
friends of friends and like-minded people.
After meeting major bumps in the road that totally crashed my car; I left that all behind for a weekend. (I didn’t really crash- that was a metaphor. )
How refreshing it was to be around like-minded people who spoke my language. At the Disco picnic this past weekend I talked with folks who were amped as much as I was for Deep house/Disco music. I actually held meaningful conversations about good-ass music. We exchanged different “favorite” DJ’s and mixes. Instead of the usual “this is what House music is, this is what it’s not, it comes from Chicago which comes from Disco. Here’s a good station if you’re interested blah blah blah.” I felt so welcomed and so at ease; I even joked with my two friends that I had to tell people “….no- I’m not Maggie’s cousin….and no- I didn’t go to Kenwood and no- I didn’t grow up in Chicago”.
As we randomly strolled half-heartedly looking for “friends tents” people were saying “good to see you again” with me knowing I have never met them in my life- what a warm feeling – I really can’t describe it in words. I breathed it all in.
I smiled a lot this weekend, real and genuinely.
We happened to stop by a tent where my friend’s step bro was hosting. We were on our feet walking and dancing for hours so I sat down to enjoy my gluten-free, no soy, organic lentil salad that I brought from California and I’ll just call her Kansas Kambucha Kathy starts to talking about food and how she won’t pay for Kambucha in the store. So she taught her self how to make it. “…..girl – you can find anything and how to do everything on Pinterest”. She went through the entire process and what she does with it and all the by-products, and how her husband gets a little buzzed from it, she uses the the supernate for her colon issues, etc, etc. That conversation was a blast!
Later, Mike Dunn came on and the party really started. From then on- not many selfies, no side-conversations, just fist pumping and jumping! It made me think back to about 3 or 4 months ago when a friend asked me the last time I truly felt like I had a genuinely/authentic good time.
A time that DID live up to what I wanted or hoped it would be. I sighed… then I told her………………
“At the Disco picnic………for sure.“
Much love to you ALL ………………. on this “Disco Picnic” weekend virtually. Until we meet again. Love To The World.
Here’s the link to the Disco picnic this year! 2023 – see ya there!
