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On the previous page
I wrote about the virtues of
repeated non-stop
listening to
select pieces of music
Never before
[nor since]
did I ever do so
AND
simultaneously
create something
of tangible,
practical and aesthetic use:
I paneled the wall
framing sliding doors
to the patio
of a San Diego condominium
with "furring strips" of wood
—from floor to ceiling—
while listening to
Michael Jackson's
THRILLER
which was produced by
30 years later
[after moving to Burbank],
I revisited that condo
which my then ex-wife
had sold
to an Egyptian man
who welcomed me,
insisting I join him
for a cup of tea
NOTHING
in my former
two storey/two bedroom
home
looked the same
except for
the "furring strip" wall
leading to the patio
For this reason,
I am eternally grateful to
QUINCY JONES
and commented accordingly
on the previous page
My new Egyptian friend
—Muta Ali—
telephoned me in Burbank
the following month
inviting me to his home
so we could play tennis
on the court
right outside his door on
140 Candace Place
Vista, CA 92083
Muta beat the living bejesus
out of me in
two humiliating sets
but I can still taste
the Hibiscus tea
we drank on his patio
after the match
Dear Reader:
allow to ask
Quincy Jones
—who died yesterday—
a simple question
about his life
in the After-life:
Can you really
rest in peace
after producing
some of the greatest
dance music
human beings
have ever known
???
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