Never In Your Wildest Dreams
Being in the room where it happens.
Tina Turner by Peter Lindbergh, 1989.
When Oprah Winfrey celebrated her 50th birthday the producers at The Oprah Winfrey Show planned a show full of surprises with the first one being actor John Travolta who would co-host the birthday episode with Oprah’s BFF, Gayle King. In a calm voice Travolta says to Oprah “Now this next surprise and gift flew in all the way from Switzerland to tell you something: that you are simply the best.” One second later the electric beat for Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” drops, a curtain opens revealing lit stairs and Tina standing at the top with her infamous blonde wig. As Tina smoothly sashays down the stairs Oprah and the audience are in a frenzy. She embraces Oprah and immediately heads to the stage, joining her three backup dancers, never missing a beat and perfectly belts out the lyrics to the first verse of the song. My heart is pounding and my cheeks hurt from smiling hard, as I watch from my MacBook Air while sitting at home on my couch. I think to myself “What was it like to be in that room?” and then another thought comes: What does it feel like to experience events that will only occur once in a lifetime?
Unfortunately, I’ll never be able to say I was in the United Center when the Chicago Bulls won yet another championship. As a Chicagoan, I don’t underestimate the thrill we felt celebrating in the streets of Chicago. However, I’m sure to be in the room where it happened was a natural high. Many years ago I told my mom I wanted to be caught in the middle of a flash mob when they were popular. It never happened, lol. Since then I’ve celebrated with thousands of other Chicagoans as we loaded ALL of the public buses and trains, to head to Grant Park on November 4, 2008 to celebrate America’s first Black president, Barack Obama. Tears streamed down my face, because I’d never experienced ANYTHING historical in my life before, and I couldn’t help but to think of my paternal grandfather. He came to Chicago from Mississippi during The Great Migration for a better life. He passed away in 1996 from cancer. I’m sure he thought we’d NEVER see a Black president. I cried for him and cried, because my grandchildren will know it indeed happened.
While driving to work yesterday morning it dawned on me that in the midst of my thrill seeking not to overlook the grandness each day presents. They may not consist with celebrities showing up to your door to help you celebrate your birthday, but they are present. The miracle of being alive. The faithfulness of being kept by God. The truth of being loved. These are all grand, life-changing, and eternal.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think something extremely grand could be so simple.
Your Favorite Cousin,
Nik
p.s. R.I.P. Tina Turner. She was simply the best.
*currently creating*
Ain’t no way I’ve been able to keep up with all the things I want to read and watch. I realized it’s because I’m knee deep in the process of creating. I’m at the tail end of editing my radio episode for VOCALO which will air this month. I’ve also been dedicating a lot of time to Black Citizens of Chicago. Be sure to follow for fresh, new stories all summer.