Donna in Hollywoodland

Donna Grayson

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Poetry Tonight

I'm not a big Nightclub person. But once in a while, its fun.

Tonight, FlyPoet was having a Spoken Word and Music showcase at The Conga Room .

And LA People Connection got a group together.
Because they had such a large group, about 20 of us, we had preferred seating.
And we got to go into the show before the mad rush of the crowds.

I was running alittle late.
When I got to the door, the doorman asked for my ID.
At first, I could not tell what he had asked me for.

"My ID?" - oh, yeah,, this is a nightclub and they do need IDS. Its been a long time.
I started rummaging around in my purse.
"Oh, my ID ... hmmm, my drivers license."

Finally the doorman said "Thats okay, you can go in."
I laughed and said "Thanks".
I mean, its pretty obvious that I am of legal age - I am in my late 40s.
Still, it makes me feel young to be asked for my ID. Ha Ha !

I paid my cover charge, and they gave me a wrist band.
I held out my right arm, in case they made it too tight for the left arm.
Hey, I'm getting pretty good at the "watch out for the left arm" thing that my doctors have been telling me to do.

We had a special wrist band that let us go right into the club.
Everyone from LA People Connection were right in the 3rd row. So we had great seats.

Its kind of funny, being Caucasian in Los Angeles.
For most of my life I have lived in the beach cities of Santa Monica and Venice, then down in the LA South Bay city of Redondo Beach. So I always thought of myself as really White.
For a long time I really didn't "get" ethnic stuff or ethnic culture.
As far as Art went, it was more the typical artsy-fartsy culture from Europe that I gravitated to. Museums and Classical music were the "Art" I understood.

Now that I have been living in East Hollywood for Six years, I find myself appreciating more and more Ethnic culture and Ethnic Art. I find I actually enjoy it just as much as the European Artsy-Fartsy stuff that I am used to.
Living in the City has really expanded my view of Art and Culture, and I find there is more to enjoy and appreciate.

The "Flypoet" event was absolutely amazing. I love Poetry, and this was the first time I've attended a Spoken Word event. So to see so many outstanding performances in one evening was just incredible.

My favorites of the evening were Jaha Zainabu and Amanda Dumas .
Jaha Zainabu did a spoken word that was half Comedian, half Preacher. I am paraphrasing, but she went into a thing about how big God is, "Whatever you are going through, God is bigger. Whatever the Doctors tell you, God is bigger."
Yikes. That sounded like it was meant right for me.

posted by Donna Grayson # 11:34 PM

Donna in Hollywoodland

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

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