Re: Operator

I remember my brother trying to educate me about 5/4 time. Sadly, I liked the song but didn't have the foggiest idea of what he was talking about

This line from "Heavenly" struck me:
"I may not be the one you want, But, I'm sure the one you need."

Blue Rondo La Turk, as soon as my foot starting tapping, I remember that sometime way back, I used to play that song just to get my foot taping again.

Just a little side-note: I listen to a lot of Asian singers and through they are listed as "J-POP," a lot of them actually go back to their Jazz roots when performing. Inevitably in all of their albums there will be one or two, if not several, Jazz songs.

Being that I haven't paid much attention to Jazz and R&B in such a long time, I hesitate to mention the New Age and Pop songs on this page.

Was listening to some of the artists you listed previously. Didn't realize that Chapin did "Cat's in the Cradle". Great song.

Also forgot that Lightfoot sang "Sundown" and "If You Could Read My Mind", which I liked a lot.

As for McLean, everybody knows "American Pie", but my favorite of his is "Vincent". That song is timeless in its imagery and sadness.

And Dylan - though I like his songs, I was never fond of his singing, lol. I much prefer Jimi Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower".

Bass Reeves:
I looked at your profile.
In the small world that this is, I was stationed at England AFB, Alexandria, La (Rapides Parish) from January 1970 to October 1970 and dated a young lady from Metairie. My buddy and his wife were from Kenner and "fixed me up" with her school teacher friend.
Snuck down to Bourbon Street several times, fell in love with crawdads, Hush puppies, and deep fried catfish. Also had my first taste of that god-awful stuff they called Chickory Coffee - nearly choked to death taking my first healthy swig of it. (My friends goaded me into it while laughing to themselves, pulling that prank on me.)
There was a place we liked to stop at on the road to New Orleans (a lot of places like that) you pulled off onto a narrow, dirt road, drove for a few miles and found a picnic-like area (tables under a tin roof structure). You sat down, ordered, and food came pouring out from a back shed. What a feast!
Great adventures there. I met so many hospitable and friendly people there. Another thing I got introduced to there was "Tomato Beer" (or "Red Beer") by the pitcher.

Now memories are rushing back: Jazz at Preservation Hall, Al Hirt Live, Hurricanes (the drink), walk down the street with a glass and it always got filled with something, stand anywhere on the street and New Orleans Jazz filled the air.

I'll probably think of more but, I should stop for now.

Hey CK,

FYI, chicory is added to coffee to remove the bitterness. It actually has a slight chocolatey taste. And coffee sans chicory tastes God-awful to me. So there!

I'm glad you enjoyed my city. Like jazz itself, I was born in New Orleans. A lot of great artists have come from here (e.g., Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson), or recorded here early in their careers, such as Sam Cooke and Little Richard. Al Jarreau's father was also from NO, and Beyoncé's mom's family was from Louisiana, as was both of Prince's parents.

And speaking of Al Hirt, it's said that he was one of the greatest trumpeters of his time, and would've garnered even more renown, had he left New Orleans, and played more modern jazz genres, instead of dixieland.

An interesting story about Hirt. A long time ago, he, the trumpeter Miles Davis, and jazz pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis were discussing what instrument Ellis' young son Wynton should play. Hirt suggested the trumpet. But Miles disagreed saying it would too difficult for Wynton to master. But Hirt won out, and gave Wynton his first trumpet at the age of 12.

The rest is musical history (and probably another reason Wynton and Miles didn't see eye-to-eye when it came to music, lol).

SIR Bass Reeves:

What an education I'm getting from you. You certainly know your music, and the stories behind the artists.

You asked me to recommend words that may apply to people here and I declined at that time.
However, I posted three songs in My Gallery that I believe have messages for people here in 50Plus. Though contemporary, new age, and pop, I love the words in them.

Make it a great day Sir BassReeves

SIR ClydeKen,

Thanks for the kind compliments, and the knighthood. I feel so regal! . My first official act is to return the favor!

I'm going to have to check out your song suggestions; you have very good taste in music, sir.

A lot of the best stories I have involve Miles Davis. I'll have to remember to regale you with them.

A great and productive day to you as well, Sir Clyde Ken.

Sir BassReeves:
I'm humbled by your suggestion that I'm even close to your level of intellect inre: Music.
I also read your posting with Hoosier Girls and that even takes me to another lower level.

You are a true scholar from what I can see. I'm sure you'll be making many friends in this 50Plus Club.

I've joined other PURE dating sites but 50Plus has a lot more to offer.

This is how I see Sir Bass Reeves ...

You, SIR, are on the way to becoming one of the greater contributors to 50Plus and will be regaled as such as time goes by.

Under Sir ClydeKen

Sir ClydeKen,

I sincerely appreciate your kind words. I inherited my love of learning from my dad. Though he didn't graduate high school, he was a voracious reader, with a phenomenal memory. I would say that he loved to read, but I think it was more that he was addicted to reading. Lol

After my mom died, he would often fall asleep with books or a newspaper in his bed. His bedroom looked as if a library had blown up in it (lol). Though he passed 30 years ago, my siblings and I still quote him, like philosophy grads quote Aristotle.

As for me, I consider myself a lifelong student, not only of life, but also of truth. Whenever I encounter something that I think might be too difficult to comprehend, I'm reminded of what John Lennon sang long ago:

There's nothing you can know
That can't be known;
Nothing you can show
That can't be shown.

Speaking of intelligence, have you ever noticed that it's the first compliment you receive at the beginning of a relationship ("Wow, you're so smart! I love that about you!"), and the first insult you receive at the end of that relationship ("You think you're so smart! I hate that about you!")?

Anyway, it's nice to share knowledge and music with someone else who really appreciates them.

Have an illuminating day, Sir CK!

Sir BassReeves:
May I make an assumption? At first, I thought you were a fisherman (although I do believe you do some of that, correct?) so I was pronouncing your name in that manner. Now, however, I have shifted my thinking to saying your name as the musical instrument, is this correct?

With your musical knowledge, in particular, the musical instrument sounds better than the fish.

In any event, thanks for accepting the Friend request.

Under Sir CK

Sir ClydeKen,

Although I used to go fishing as a kid with my dad (some of my favorite memories, BTW), and at one point was learning to play the bass guitar (one of my favorite instruments), my screen name is actually an homage to the real-life inspiration for the fictional character, the Lone Ranger.

Reeves was a fascinating character of the Old West. You would think that his would be a household name today, like Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson - he was a much better lawman than either of them - until you Google him: then his lack of notoriety becomes painfully apparent, Speaking of the Lone Ranger the word "Tonto" in Spanish means "stupid", or "foolish". SMH...

OK, enough with the history lesson, lol. Have an enlightening day, my friend. And thanks for the friend request!

Honorable SIR BassReeves:

I am an avid bowler. Growing up in Hilo, Hawaii, 1960, a brand new automatic pinsetter 24 lane (later expanded to 40 lanes) opened and I began bowling in a junior bowling club. When I was in High School ,10th grade, I became the President of the club. Anyway, one of the teams was all-girls (actually 2 were) but, they were studying Espanol and named their team, "Zapatos," because they all wore colorful bowling shoes. Because they were estudio y aprender Espanol, we learned what "Tonto" meant. Kids being kids in the early '60's, we used that name to chide each other when we did something "pupule," (Hawaiian for stupid, crazy).
Because of multi-culturalism, we also used "Bakatare," Japanese for stupid, crazy; "Babo" in Korean; "Bendan," in Chinese; "Tanga," in Filipino; "Baba Bobo" in Thai; and also, another Hawaiian Pidgin English word was, "babooze." So now I've taught you 6 other ways to call someone an idiot. Are you glad you Friended me?

I don't speak any language fluently but I know more Japanese, Thai, Spanish words than Chinese, Filipino, and Korean.

I am learning Spanish from a lady I met her in 50Plus (she has since dropped out) but she emails me all in Spanish and I answer back in Spanish / English so she can correct my Espanol usage.

The woman I allude to in my profile is a Croatian-Serb-German-Hungarian. She is teaching me German, although she speaks 5 languages. She was on 50Plus as a Premium but dropped to basic because we are now communicating outside of 50Plus.

I hope to learn a lot of things from you, SIR, and I'm glad we've struck up this friendship.

May I recommend you to the other ladies I've befriended? There are three others from the US. Two are lovers of poetry since we post a lot of them here in 50Plus; the last I just Friended so all I know is she loves poetry, songs, and prose.

Aloha, SIR BassReeves

Sir CK,

Wow, your knowledge of languages is impressive, much more so than my knowledge of music, history or quantum physics. I have yet to find any practical use for being able to tell a chromatic scale from a pentatonic one, or the 6 types of quarks, lol. I've always wanted to learn different languages. I took French in elementary, high school and college, but my skills atrophied from lack of use. Really wish now that I'd taken Spanish. Hell, at this point in my life, I'm just lucky to still be able to speak English reasonably well.

Also impressive is your skill at bowling. I've been bowling only once, but it was a lot of fun. None of my friends were into it, so I didn't get the opportunity to play. I do shoot pool (badly), which I did with my dad, brothers and friends, but the pandemic squashed that. I do miss playing, though.

And I would appreciate it if you recommended me to your friends here. I'm still getting the hang of how the site works, so I'm a little reluctant to post more. I've been to the chat room a few times, but often it's either empty, nearly empty, or there are people who've gotten to know each really well, and are often having a conversation about something or someone I know nothing about. And it really seems to bother some members when people enter the room, but don't speak. It would be nice to be able to see who's in the chat room without having to enter it.

Anyway, have an adventurous day!

SIT BassReeves:

I can assure my language skills are not as good as they appear to be. I don't speak any fluently and I'm not able to converse with anyone. I do know lots of words and phrases in some foreign languages but, only enough to get me into trouble if I open my mouth in front of a native speaker. My laziness in gaining fluency eventually wins out over my occasional bouts of, "I'm gonna stick to it and learn it."

I'm seeing you posting and commenting more and more. Keep it up and you'll be making friends on your own. Heck, I'll soon be seeing you as one of the Top 12 Gentlemen soon.

Under Sir CK

Sir CK,

Your fluency in foreign languages mimics mine in music, lol.

Though I'm somewhat knowledgeable in music theory, I don't know nearly as much as I'd like to. And though I've been told I'm a good singer, I don't play an instrument anywhere near as well.

And trust me, learning to play one is much more difficult at my age. Or maybe that's just me.

As for making friends here, I guess time will tell. I do look forward to the opportunity!