Preface
Preface
Thanks for buying this book. It’s not a complete book, or a book that’s finished. Hence, the soft price. These are some of my first writings. I’m a first-time writer and I’ve put some things down on paper. Hopefully you will see the potential and provide me with feedback. Then it’ll only get better.
The book is divided into a number of pieces.
Well, for starters, there are pieces on Peter. Peter is my imaginary friend with whom I have adventures. Actually, the word adventure is not a good description. It’s not very dangerous, and it’s certainly not exciting. Adventurous in a spiritual sense, let’s just leave it at that.
In addition, three stories of 500 words. In a nutshell, I still have my doubts.
To end with the most personal part. The lack of structure is compensated for by honesty. You can really get to know me there.
Will you let me know what you think?
Peter and the madhouse
I see Nina Simone sitting on a stage. Montreux Festival, 1976. She starts singing:
Stars, they come and go they come fast they come slow they go like the last light of the sun all in a blaze..
Nina just started singing Janis Ian’s song, but right now, she’s suddenly stopped singing. In the audience a girl just got up, probably to go to the bathroom. Nina won’t tolerate this. Gently, she says:
Hey girl, sit down.
From the audience comes a zesty laughter. No one knows if Nina’s serious about this. The whole show is already full of confusing interactions between the audience and Nina. Every now and then she is very excited and the audience has to join in, but at other times during the show she is strict and silences everyone.
Sit down!
The girl who got up hasn’t listened to Nina yet. There’s a tremendous amount of tension. No one knows what Nina’s gonna do. While she’s sitting there behind her piano, she looks a little like a schoolteacher. The last time someone was so admonished like that was during school. To ease the tension, laughter comes from the audience. Nina’s not doing this to laugh, Nina’s dead serious.
Sit! Down!
Nina’s last swing. This time greet with a silence, followed by a laugh and applause. The girl’s back in her seat. Nina pointed her finger in the direction of the victim. Nina breathes in once, and starts again.:
Stars, they come and go they come fast they come slow they go like the last light of the sun all in a blaze,
Nina’s life wasn’t a bed of roses. I’m always looking for geniuses I can identify with. Which means they’re a little crazy, too. With Nina, it wasn’t just a little bit, it was a lot. She had bipolar disorder. This led to her being able to have massive outbursts at any given times. There are stories that she used her gun regularly to get her way. One time, she tried to shoot someone from her record company, and she later told them she tried to kill him, but she missed. She also shot a neighbor boy with an air rifle once because this boy’s laughter took her out of her concentration.
In 1974, Nina moved to Liberia. West Africa. Nina was active in the Civil Rights Movement, which was also reflected in her songs. It made her music popular in a different way.
Nina’s story is one of grief.
