
Welcome to my online journal. This journal is a venue for my views and mine alone and are in no way meant to reflect on the the Peace Corps or its philosophy. I only hope to bear witness to the pandemic in Africa that is killing millions of men, women, and children who, after however many years rife with their own personal struggle to survive, are dying senseless and horrible deaths at the hands of HIV/AIDS. For more current postings, go to www.alysonpeel.blogspot.com
I was on the bus, headed to town to check email this morning. The bus was crowded, having come in from Manzini, and I ended up having to stand near the rear of the bus. Oddly enough, Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” came on the bus radio, for some reason tucked inbetween horrible music that passes itself off as gospel here. I start singing along, quietly, and noticed someone singing at a bare whisper with me. A man in a seat near the window, holding his young daughter on his lap, joins me a verse into the song:
“Beginning to think that I'm wastin' time
I don't understand the things I do
The world outside looks so unkind
I'm countin' on you to carry me through
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away”
And the man’s eyes are closed and there’s a half smile on his face…
“And when my mind is free
You know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue
The guitar's comin' through to soothe me
Thanks for the joy that you've given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
Rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along makin' me strong
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away”
We get to the end of the song and we know we shared a moment out of place, out of time, across cultures. I guess we're all looking for a little release sometimes.