Q is For the Quintessential Moment of a Queen Ushering Her Quillionth Day In

“Speak life into your vision by dressing for the vision”

– Valorie Burton

I have been on this earth for about a quintillion of days and just thinking back is almost like looking at picture after picture over my experiences that laid the groundwork to this moment.

I can’t say that I have treated every moment with gentle care. Some days I fell totally short of being in control of my responses to the world around me. I won’t claim that I had to hurdle over many hardships, but the foolish mistakes that I was able to overcome gave me all the ambition in the world to continue on this interesting journey, one step at a time, with my head up.

I was raised around a circle of strong women. Seeing my mother and two sisters in action always filled me with hope. I knew that I’d one day root out of the dirt of my parent’s little garden with much creativity because of them.

I loved music ever since I saw Michael Jackson moon-walking across the television. I got so excited that the orange juice I had in my sippy cup jumped out of the container into the television my mother had propped in front of us. 

He knew how to croon a tune from the heart. Him and many other artists gave me a good dose of feeling and I continued to listen out of love.

Whitney Houston made me want to sing to the four corners of any room I was in at the loudness of the music that was playing on my little boombox. I guess that is why today I can sing so loud, I don’t really need a microphone to reach anyone in a room that could even seat about 5500 people.

I used to love New Kids on the Block and started collecting their trading cards to share with my elementary school friends that loved them just the same. I knew every song they had, watched their videos on VHS tapes my parents got me and could sing all their lyrics word for word. I even had their poster on my wall.

The same happened when I started to like Basketball in high school. I still get chills reminiscing over the exciting games I used to watch the NY Knicks play. That was my team. Watching them made me feel good; especially John Starks. The more I watched, the more he became my favorite bball player. 

He had this loose, flexible style when he played. He would sweep down the court like a tornado and make the most incredible perimeter shots and I loved that. But I won’t lie, he was a great player but was was kind of good to look at too. 

So good that I started collecting basketball cards and had a poster of him on my wall dunking over Michael Jordan. I hoped one day to meet him in person and never thought that quenchable moment would ever come to satisfy my hunger for it.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege and honor of performing with the Bartlett Contemporaries at Pat La Frieda’s Chop House at Citifield in Flushing, NY. It was a cool night in a great place with some of the most beautiful people. 

The night like any other night where live music is involved, took on a life of its own. Music cut through the silence and the band played to a room of people who were receptive, singing along and dancing.  I always have fun when playing with this band because they really enjoy doing what they do and get crazy; so crazy that they don't want to stop. Just play and play and play on. 

I felt really positive that night because I was about to usher in to the 2020^th chapter of my life the next week and it left me with this mature and powerful aura. So positive, that I decided to wear these quippy four-inch heels which I never do because, I’m getting old and my knees can’t take it. LOL! But that night, I did.  I guess it’s a Queen thing. I used to dream about wearing heels and twitching with this confidence like my mom used to do. I was feeling the 2020 coming over me and it felt quite Queenly. 

That’s when it happened. John Starks walked across the room and my eyes couldn’t help but wander behind him as he walked past us to the other side of the room and I hadn't seen him again. But then as the night went on, there he was standing at the bar, watching us musically do our thing. That is when the band leader Carl Bartlett Sr said, let’s do Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.” 

That is a song I really love, and I thought to myself, why not walk over to him and say hello. And I did. While Carl Bartlett Jr quadrated to the beat with his saxophone solo, I asked John Starks to dance and there we were on the dance floor in the midst of my song and I got to sing to him and everything.

My voice rang with confidence while my favorite basketball player from childhood was dancing in my arms and I was tall enough to talk to this 6 ft 2-inch man that I had admired since I was a teenager.

 If anything, to say that 2018 was a good year for me, that moment was the quintessential. My hope went from being propped in front of my television watching him through a tube from the confines of my bedroom to in real time where the opportunity presented itself to actually say hello in person. I couldn’t help but to capture the moment and to frame the keepsake for my mantle.You can check out the full video on YouTube here if you are interested: https://youtu.be/dqf-BVutH2w

I laugh it off now, but I never thought I’d feel nervous meeting someone famous but during our little exchange, I felt like I was back in my little high school uniform and was almost too shy to formulate my request. But thank God I rose above my fear though because that earth moving moment is a moment that I’ll never forget. Still brings me chills now. It may have been just a dance, but the memory will forever remain in the clutches of my heart. 

Perhaps, it was the heels!