In April of 2011 I was in New Orleans following a horrible flu. Running a high fever for 4 days and loaded on antibiotics, my health was restored by the day I left New Orleans to come back home. It was during this final day there that I imagined Death Blues. I imagined it not only as music, but also as a situation. A situation certainly present in post-Katrina New Orleans, but clearly present in normal, everyday lives all around the world. We need to celebrate the life we have while we can, and we need to pursue what we find positive about it to the fullest.
Last week, I went back to New Orleans. Less than 72 hours before getting on the plane, I was rushed to the hospital with the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I came to terms with the fact that I may be dying. It seemed very logical and reasonable based on what I was experiencing. By the next morning, a kidney stone had passed, and after an afternoon and evening of rest, I arrived in New Orleans.
I can’t deny that it felt like a second chance, and also the strange irony of coincidence with health issues so close to traveling to this city. Both of these experiences have shaped my view not only of this project, but also of the very reality of existence.
Ultimately, that feeling of chance should be constant. Although I’m now seeking a sense of normalcy (if that exists), I’m also highly aware of not taking things for granted, or putting off things that I can do now.
Now is it. Now is huge.
Yet it is not it.
