I personally believe that there comes a time, at least once in everyone’s life, when there is a special convergence of forces that can dictate the rest of how that person’s life will progress… a crossroads, if you will. I believe I may have reached such a point in my life.
I’ll start with things concerning music.
To date, I have completed several extremely successful tours with my program “What’s All That Jazz About?”. Without exception, every single venue has asked me to make a return. But, what pleases me the most are the connections I’ve made. One connection I am particularly happy to have made is with a musician that I met in Spartanburg, South Carolina, by the name of Daniel Z, who would very much like to become a partner of mine in expanding my programming.
The timing of meeting Daniel is interesting, as I had just been complaining about my lack of help in my endeavors. I had also begun to think about expanding my programming to encompass more venues along the east coast. Plans have also begun towards my first sortie into the west coast.
Then there are some physical matters that have been of recent concern.
My hands are starting to show the signs of too many hours on the computer in an unnatural position. I have continued numbness in the last three digits of each hand, making it more difficult to type and, most unnervingly, making it more difficult to play my saxophone. But this isn’t where my physical concerns end. I have also been experiencing light-headedness, shortness of breath, and some weakness on a few of my recent performances when it has been the hottest and I have had to perform outdoors. Interestingly enough, I usually feel better after eating some food.
Could this be a sign of diabetes, high blood pressure, or even heart disease? One thing I know is that my body is clearly trying to tell me that it is nearing its limits pertaining to the type of daily abuse it must endure in order to maintain self-employment as a fulltime musician.
Now I shall move into an occurrence that is more of a personal nature.
When I was about two months old, my mother and father decided to separate from each other. Absolutely all contact was lost with my father and I was subsequently raised by my mother and grandmother. Later, my stepfather George Clark stepped into the picture. Unfortunately, my stepfather passed away on August 6, 2010. In any case, growing up, I had always had a curiosity about my biological father. I wanted to know who he was, how I may be similar or dissimilar to him, and whether or not I may have any half-brothers and sisters.
Just recently, in what seemingly would only be nearly impossible feat, I managed to find my biological father! Not only that, but I have also found out that I have seven half-brothers and sisters. I have met all of my siblings except my youngest brother, who was on a trip to Bolivia with his mother, and two of my sisters who live in Canada and that the rest of my family had lost touch with within the past few years. And, of course, I have had the opportunity to meet my father face to face.
One of the things that I find so striking is that none of the males on my father’s side of the family, not counting my youngest brother because he is only 6 years old, are shorter than six feet, three inches tall. Another thing that I find interesting is how similar my father, my two oldest brothers, and I are to each other. That is to say, that all four of us have the spirit of an entrepreneur, are intelligent, are very computer and internet savvy, and are readily comfortable talking to and approaching people.
So what is the point of all of this?
All of these things have occurred within an incredibly short amount of time, making me feel like there is both a convergence of forces taking place in my life, and that I am at an important crossroads of sorts. I have this strong sensation that the decisions I make at this juncture can have a massive impact on the rest of my life. There are other factors and occurrences that I have omitted for the sake of saving time and space within this blog entry, but suffice it to say that there are too many things, that potentially carry great significance to me, that are happening all at once or in near synchronicity.
My situation reminds me of the “choose your own adventure” books that were popular when I was a young teenager. Do I step into one doorway of the unknown or the other? The thing is, this time I can’t cheat and look ahead at what awaits me.
By Shenole Latimer
