QUINCY JONES ... Rest In Peace

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 ***

 

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

Quincy Jones

 

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

???

________________________________________________________________________________________________