Latest / Dits & Dahs / 50 years after a singular moment
Transcript
- Sue: Back in time. We're getting younger every minute. This is another mundane post about the YouTube algorithm. And this morning's feed appeared a video from a Bill Moyers show called Moyers and Company interviewing Maya Angelou, entitled Facing Evil with Maya Angelou. Give him my posts on my own blog here, sometimes reference evil in a spirituality sense and realm. It's not surprising how the algorithm works. I even get my own music posts showing up in my feed. It's the algorithm is that much of an echo chamber if you let it. So in an effort to balance out the algorithm, I of course watched this Bill Moyers episode with Maya Angelou and I was reminded that when I was in high school, I was part of the audience on the Buck Matthew show. Broadcast by Wood TV, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in nineteen seventy six with Maya Angelou as the guest being interviewed. Rita just got spooked off the wood bridge. There's a lot of tall grass and low water, so there's probably all sorts of critters that are laying in wait for on a dry riverbed. Anywho, so I figured what the hey? It's two thousand twenty six. Might there be an archive? I know from having worked in public media at WNET that everything that was filmed in video, there is an archive. It may not be transferred to the latest media and therefore not be available online, but ⁓ yes, if it was filmed, it's been preserved in some way. But as I say, who knew? So did a search and sure enough, there is the program online for all to view via what I think is Buck Matthews' son YouTube channel. And the back of me is seen facing The audience camera, as I'm asking a question of Maya during the Buck Matthews show, right before it goes to commercial. So unlike all of the other students whose questions were answered face on camera, mine not only was the question not heard, but you only saw my back, and that sort of speaks to the confluence of work that I've had in the music industry as a public media broadcaster, that I always worked behind the camera, telling that as a fifteen year old that that was my first moment in broadcast. Significant because the question that I asked her, that you will have not have heard, is, What is it that you wish your readers to take away when they read your books? And her answer was to experience joy in life. And then she elaborated a little bit for which I don't have the exact wording. But the initial words of her answer have been My mantra because at that point in nineteen seventy six, she was getting ready to release her third autobiography and already teaching at well established universities and respected as a scholar of work. And with my recent posts of the last couple years about the importance of understanding that each word when it's attached with energy is a manifestation, prayer, wish, it has Creation of energy that must return to you, it is therefore imperative that whatever you energy wise add to that word, spoken or unspoken, it be positive. Because it will come back on you. Anywho, back to the moment. And if you're up for watching it, first of all, I think every word that Maya Angelo spoke is worthy of composed, balanced, critical listening, given the amount of energy she put in those words. And I think if you It to about I think it's 1759 to about eight o eighteen ⁓ two, as you can see me getting up from my seat. That's on camera and walk to the microphone. What I remember about that moment was just how much the butterflies of my stomach were going. I mean, fifteen years old. I have just started high school, have already been playing music for almost a decade, have had some public performance, having some presence of what it is to stand in front of many people, all eyes upon you. Only this time it's with Maya Angelou standing there. And then you have this whole other understanding about yourself, which is to say that when you have those moments in life you gotta just keep it together. You gotta just understand that everybody's human and being nervous is a natural thing, but not to let it overcome what it is that you're trying to accomplish. And if you look at some of the other questions that were presented, some of those students were very clearly butterfly stomachs. I think all of us in that room collectively felt a certain excitement and summoning up of our personal bravery just to walk up to that microphone stand and pose a question knowing that it was live television. Yeah, it was local at that point. But the significance of that event. And I find it especially interesting because the camera only caught the back of me. As I say, it's typical of what my role in broadcast has been, as slight as it is, but even in in music publishing and working at those firms along with record labels, I've always been the behind the scenes. So now that I'm making this YouTube content, that's predominantly my voice that you're listening to and not so much about seeing me to speak the words. Nothing new there then. And in some way, when I reconnected with those words, they have been her words, her answer to my question, as as generic a question as that is. The words about experiencing joy in life, that's just common sense. It's not easy to get to enjoying life and finding joy in life at all. But it's what we aspire to be, I think, as as humans, is to to experience happiness and calmness and peace and the joy of whatever that moment is. And hopefully it puts a smile on your face. That's been sort of my go to bit of advice that I've carried with me as I ventured forth in life after that day. What an extraordinary opportunity for that whole collective of high school students that day. To be in sort of a close set. Hm, except for the fact it was being broadcast on television live. But you understand that, you know, when you're in that room you're not thinking so much about whoever is watching via the live television 'cause it was a nine AM weekday show that he had. He was very personable. I think he was like the weather broadcast. What I'm saying is that it was an intimate mindset that we all shared. I don't know if it was a hundred and fifty, two hundred, I don't know, it was relatively small audience in that studio, by what I'm professionally worked in, but nonetheless, ⁓ we were all caught up with an awesomeness of the company that we were keeping that day, thanks to Buck Matthews hosting Maya Angelou. In tracing it the video down today, I noticed that on his site, he considers that episode to be one of his hallmark of his career. What an amazing thing to have been physically apart, just as an audience member. Yeah, I know. I did ask a question as it was going to commercial break, but to be part of something that Fifty years later is considered a highlight of somebody's career. That's a beautiful sentiment. And I consider it to be the beginning of what I went on to pursue, which was doing the best that I could in music. Which curiously brought me into broadcasting as well. From the behind the scenes side, of course. And while I do occasionally put my face on camera, it's it's in my tiny affirmations playlist mostly, very brief. Because honestly, it's about the sound. Something that is 50 years old has been curated and archived and made available. And I think that's a beautiful thing when a legacy, even if it's just the back of me, it's a very fond memory to cherish and recognize that when you are in a situation, standing up, speaking your truth, might actually contribute to something that you can't. possibly imagine the weight of that in the future. And then to be able to revisit that moment and recognize it as being quite a singular moment. For for me asking a really sort of vanilla question. That's pretty cool. I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful to be in a place where I can share it. No matter how few of you actually listen to it, it's not important. But I appreciate the fact that you did listen to it this far. Thank you. I appreciate you.