Photo by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer says: So in my efforts to get myself out of the BLACK HOLE I accepted two invitations for this past weekend and I am SO glad I did!
There are a fair amount of opportunities on Grand Bahama to expose oneself to "culture": plays, concerts, Junkanoo Festivals, etc. As a single mom, normally I pass these things up to watch my budget. I'm beginning to think this strategy has perhaps been a mistake.
A good friend called and said she'd been given two tickets to a concert for Saturday night and invited me to go. "Love to" was my reply. It was a group I'd never heard of called NATURALLY7 They've copyrighted something they call "vocal play". They use nothing but their voices to make all of their music. It was the one of the most interesting and wonderful performances I've ever seen! To watch them was amazing! Seven guys from New York singing, dancing and making sounds that perfectly imitate a drum set, bass guitar, electric guitar, horns... Their story and their ability to engage the audience made for a really fabulous night. After the concert I got to meet the members and get a signed CD. Great bunch of guys!
I also have to mention that even though NATURALLY7 was the main act the trio of local high school singers who performed the American and Bahamian National anthems and the high school steel pan band who performed throughout the evening were very good in their own right!
On Sunday morning Susan had also invited me for coffee at our favorite cafe, Island Java. So, I said yes to that too. We hadn't hung out for a while and it's always nice to have an old (by old I mean that we've been friends for like 20 years 'cause really we're both in our prime!) friend to confide in and run ideas by. Susan is especially good for this as we both love writing and creating art. I just love that girl. We spent some "quality" time catching up on our families' news, plans and general goings on. Great company and a divinely over-priced cup a java complete with whipped cream. I love whipped cream.
I am also happy to report that I finally met with another long time friend whose family owns a very popular store called 196 in two excellent locations. She's been suggesting for ages that I meet with her about carrying my photographs in the store. I brought my laptop and samples of a few souvenirs that I also make. We agreed they'd be a good fit for the store. She also gave me some really good suggestions that I hadn't thought of. I was really encouraged by the meeting and committed to supplying one dozen items by May 8th. Then another and another and so on and so forth...
As I've written so many times, my dream is to be self employed as a writer / photographer. I don't need a million dollars, but enough to do everything I have to and most of what I'd like to seems reasonable to me. And as my friends point out: I do have talent and need to take chance. Make decisions based on faith and not fear. Focus on what I really want and not on what I really don't want.
The moral of my story is this: be open to new experiences, always say yes to cappuccino with whipped cream and take a step towards your dreams because you just might get there with the help of good friends and family supporting you.
So dear readers, the adventure begins... now if I could just get the spacing right on this blog!
