____________Expressions in Song & Spirit & Social Change____________

I was standing on the walkway to my house, okay, okay, so it was the entrance to the Inn at Queen Anne. A man walked up and said “Excuse me” I moved, he moved, we each guessed incorrectly, then he said “I’m sorry.” The funny thing is, I knew exactly what he meant.

A few nights ago, as I was returning from my ‘jam room’ – the place where I go play guitar next to Key Arena, I was walking ‘home,’ and I passed two (hetero-sexual) couples leaving the hotel. The first guy to pass me said, “Maybe I should go find a street corner,” perhaps inviting the second guy to say “Damn, maybe just a shelter.” The very last person of this quartet, a relatively cute blonde, sporting a Barbie pony tail AND getting away with it, nervously giggled: at least one of them showed humanity. 

These two ‘jokers’ didn’t even deserve a response, so the words which sprang to my mind instantly, remained unuttered: “Or, I could just go to my room.” Maybe they had never seen someone staying in a hotel who knows how to play a guitar, meaning they can’t afford to stay in hotels rock-stars stay in, or maybe they wanted to insult me because I’d sport more style than they did if I was dressed like Raggedy Andy on the set of The Walking Dead.

 Next.

 I’m 6’3″ and from what I have learned, I am taller than 95% of men in the world. Essentially meaning, I’m taller than 95% of the people in the world. The man who said “Excuse me”, was a good two inches taller than me, (but really skinny, so I’m sure I could have taken him) and – what he said.

Did I think that he was insecure? Did I think that he lacked self-confidence? As I mentioned earlier, I KNEW exactly what he meant, because I have used similar language in similar situations. What he communicated to me, as someone who ‘groks’ language was: “I’m right here. Be not afraid.”

Did I mention he was an African-American? Can you guess the ethnicity of the ‘jokers?’ So, a free translation lesson for all my friends: When someone speaks in a way that you may consider self-deprecating, or demonstrating low self-worth, consider these lines from one of my favorite poets, who also happens to be the god-head of guitarists incarnate – Jimi Hendrix: “I just want to talk to you, I won’t do you no harm.”