In case you missed NPR's Weekend Edition today, you might like to check out this nice blues story. "In a residential neighborhood in Bessemer, Ala.,about 20 miles from Birmingham, sits a blues lover's dream: an honest-to-goodness juke joint. Gip's Place is one of a precious few musical roadhouses still hanging on in this country. . . . "Gipson has celebrated his 86th birthday about five or six times, we're told. In those years, he says, he's been struck by lightning and run over in a stampede. A singer who retired from the railroad, he's a gravedigger who owns a cemetery. "Gipson has always been famous for his hospitality, whether it be with the locals he's known for decades or the wide-eyed college kids just discovering some gut- bucket blues. When he opened his place back in 1952, it was little more than a glorified tent. Now, still several degrees removed from spiffy, the roadhouse has been fixed up — but not so much that it's lost its down-home appeal, says guitar player Lenny Madden, who functions as the house emcee." Apparently people from all walks of life hang out there to enjoy the music and dance. And top-name performers are happy to just pass the hat and take whatever because it's such an awesome venue.
Archive for May, 2011
Nice Blues Story on NPR
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged alabama, birmingham, blues, gip, gipson, npr, weekend_edition on May 21, 2011|
Welcome
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged birthstone, family, homeless, homelessness, hpp, lunaandstella, san_francisco on May 20, 2011| 6 Comments »
Suzanne knew that I blogged at work and asked me to do a blog for Luna & Stella, her birthstone jewelry company. She said I could write about anything that interested me, which is a good thing because as much as I love birthstone jewelry, it would be hard to say something new about it every day.
The things that interest me include the arts, the environment, my family, and people who try to make the world a better place. So I think I’ll start out by telling you about an organization that I learned of from Suzanne, The Homeless Prenatal Program, which is based in San Francisco. “HPP has three major goals: Healthy babies … safe and nurturing families where children thrive … and economically stable families.” I love that this organization is really preventing problems before they start. Check it out.
Blog comments should be sent to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com. I will post as many as possible.
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