We're on Our Way Home : Day 8 [Part 13]

We're on Our Way Home: Leaving London

I can’t remember if Jeff took a short nap or what, but his cab was there to pick him up at about 4:30am. We made sure he had everything and we said farewell until we would meet again in New York later that night. Remember Jeff flew directly to London, but I had to go back to Paris and then back to New York.

I finished packing and took a short nap. Kevin and Michelle said they would take me to the train in the morning on their way to drop their daughter off at school. It was early enough that I would have plenty of time to get to the airport to catch my flight.

I can’t exactly remember which train station they took me to, but I had to take three trains to get to my Heathrow that day, but they took me a bit closer than if I had taken the Overground from where they were. I can’t remember if they took me to an Overground station or to a rail station. I can’t even really remember the rout I took to the airport. I was so tired that morning. All I know is that I ended up either at Hammermith or Earl’s Court to make a switch. I think it was Earl’s Court. Either way at that point I switched for the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. Now remember there are a couple of trains that go to Heathrow. One train is for Terminal 1,2,3 & 4 and another for 1,2,3, & 5. I was so happy to see the later come when I was on the platform waiting to make the switch. I was dog tired. I mean just beat down, but I was almost there.

I got to Terminal 5 and prepared myself for whatever Heathrow might throw at me. If you remember I took the train in to London from Paris, but I decided to fly back for one major reason. I had to go back through Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris fly back home because that’s how I came in with Burnt Sugar. So on the return home I booked myself a flight on British Airways back to Paris, then I wouldn’t have to spend money to get form the center of Paris (if I had taken the train) to the airport. Now I just had to get to the proper terminal at Charles de Gaulle to catch my return flight that the Sugar crew booked me. Okay, now let’s see how Heathrow security is going to act on this day. When I got to British Airways check-in counter there was no line. I couldn’t believe this happened to me twice. First when I was flying into Paris from JFK at the Air France counter and now this. Wow. So I checked my bag, kept my bass on my back, plus my purse on my shoulder and I headed to the security line. First of all it wasn’t all that long, which was amazing, but I was checking out the security officer on the line I was in and I could tell she was tired and cranky. So I knew anything could happen with her. It wasn’t like I was carrying anything…oh wait…I had the damn screwdriver in my bass case. I forgot to take it out. Oh well, I was at the airport in plenty of time. If they took it I still would not miss my flight. So as the line is moving I notice that they take her off her post and replace her with someone else. Okay! So when I got to the front of the line I did as you do at the airport these days and everything was fine. No questions about anything. Not even the screwdriver, which I was surprised about because Heathrow can be crazy.

On the other side of security I put my shoes, coat, etc., on and headed downstairs to wait for my first flight. I was there so early that a gate hadn’t even been assigned to my flight. So I walked around and looked at the duty free stuff. It always amazed me how much of a mall that airport is. I got myself an overpriced souvenir because I needed to get rid of my Pound coins since I couldn’t exchange them back in the states. I got a pretty terrible sandwich at Pret a Manger, who by the way is taking over London. There are more Pret’s than Starbucks and you know that’s saying a lot! Then I found a place to chill until my gate showed up on the board.

If you are a smoker, it's your LUCKY day!

Sleepy in Heathrow.

Soon my flight popped up and I headed to the gate to sit there and wait until they called boarding. Again I have to mention how they board in Europe. It’s just so great. They call that the flight is ready for boarding and people get on. No calling of sections or things like that. Folks just get on the plane! LOL!  So I boarded my B.A. flight, put my bass in the overhead and it fit without any problem and settled in for this first leg.

Wing of my British Airways Flight

Flying form London to Paris is really fast. It might have been an hour maybe. So we were up and down quickly. I barely got a nap before we were landing. Since this was not a true connecting flight, I had to go pick up my luggage from baggage claim in Paris and then figure out how to get to Air France from where I was.

After getting my bag off the carousel, I found an information desk to ask how to get to terminal 2E. Since I was already in Terminal 2 I just had to take a long walk to 2E. I so glad I didn’t have to get on the airtrain to get to the terminal, which I totally thought I was going to have to do. I started walking and before I knew it I was at Air France check-in. Again there was barely a line. I knew I would be early for my flight, but I still didn’t expect that. I had already printed out my boarding pass so the woman at the counter checked my bag and I headed for Air France security.

The line wasn’t so bad, but I wasn’t sweating anything now that I was in Paris. I was almost home. When my turn came up I do the usual and walk through the metal detector, but this time they pulled my bass off the belt and asked if it was mine. “Yes, it’s mine.” They needed to look inside. Well, there goes my screwdriver. It made it from Brooklyn to Paris to London, but it wasn’t going to make it back to Brooklyn. Oh well. No worries. They took the contraband and gave me back my bass. Almost home.

I was mad early for that flight. I wasn’t scheduled to leave until about 7:30pm, and after going through security it was only about 4pm. So I had lots of time to kill. I didn’t have many Euros left. So I got a little snack, but I wasn’t worried because I knew they were going to feed us well on Air France and I’d have some wine!

Charles de Gaulle Airport Air France Terminal

Me & my bass on the last leg. Heading Home.

I sat in the terminal and thought about the days gone by. What a journey. From performing in Paris with Burnt Sugar and hanging out with my parents there; then off to London and the crazy housing situation, meeting up with Jeff, and playing some incredible shows; seeing London in a day and just having lots of laughs. I couldn’t help but look around and see the Burnt Sugar crew in my minds eye sitting with me in the Paris Airport. It made me smile. They were the reason I was there. I took a few pics of my tired self in the airport and before I knew it, it was time to board.

E 41 My Gate!

I didn’t get a window seat on the way back, but they did hold my bass for me again. This flight was challenging because it was so dry on the plane, but I later realized I was coming down with something. Honestly I think my body was just winding down so it was slowly trying to break down. The charge was over…for now. I drank so much water on that flight and could not get hydrated for anything. I was in and out of sleep the whole trip and when we were landing I thought my ears would explode. I hadn’t had that feeling in a long time.

When we landed and went through customs I could hardly hear the agent talking to me. That’s how clogged my ears were. It felt crazy. I felt like I was under water talking to people. It was strange to be home at least strange to come through customs in the U.S. Of the three places I had been (France, UK and America) only America was feeding nationalist propaganda at it’s visitors when they get off of plane. I mean as soon as you hit customs they might as well just hand you the lyrics to the National Anthem and make you sing it on the spot, with feeling! It was so crazy to see the TV screens with all the American “stuff” on it. I’m happy to be home as much as the next person, but it was all so much.

After I cleared customs and went to the ladies, I headed to baggage claim. I got my things and headed out to catch a cab when I see Jeff waiting for me with flowers! It was Valentine’s Day after all. Very sweet. We were back home. Back in New York and back to the everyday things of life, but what a time we had. What a time we had.

Thank You to everyone who came out to support us in London and all those who took the time to read this oversized blog. Love to Jeff who crossed the pond with me and represented the NY büshe. Love to LyricL who was my shining light in London. Love to Michelle & Kevin for opening their home at the 11th hour. Love to Adam and the Jazz Re:freshed crew for making their house mine. Love to the Morpheus Soul show for continuing to shout us out. Love to Up all Night Music and Native Tongue for saying yes and showing your love. Love to the UK blaKbüshe band. Love to the fox totems that kept showing up. It is my hope to get back to London soon after I release my next album this summer.

If you like what you read please be a part of making the album happen so we can go back to Europe and beyond. Check out my IndieGoGo campaign and be one of the hairs in the büshe. Thank you so much! Now on to the “Can a Girl Catch a Break? New Album Blog! Whoo Hoo!

Making a Change: The Year of the Rabbit

The locs

Well folks tomorrow we say farewell to the mighty Tiger and usher in the hopeful Rabbit. Yes tomorrow is the Chinese New Year and according to the Chinese tradition the Year of the Rabbit brings a time in which "you can catch your breath and calm your nerves." I know we could all use some of that. (Click Here for More on The Year of the Rabbit). In the spirit of the New Year, I want to tell you a story.

In 1993 I arrived in New York City. When I think of my journey working at Tower Records in Boston (R.I.P.), being transferred to the New York Tower in Lincoln Center (R.I.P.), so I could work as an unpaid intern at VIBE it all seems like a dream. I won't recap my whole crazy New York story, but I will say this.

When I arrived here in the Apple I was not rockin' locs. I had actually just cut off my first set that I started in college. I was one of 3 or 4 people on my campus with locs.  Let me accent this point by telling you that  I went to The Ohio State University which boasts a population of about 60,000 students and at that time only about 2,500 of those students were Black. With that in mind the 3 or 4 of us with locs were the minority within the minority. You dig? Loc'ing was not popular and often times people thought I had lost my mind. This is the midwest after all. The land of the relaxer.

When school ended and I landed in New York, well Parlin, NJ to be exact, I had a fresh fade. Daily I would commute into the City for work and that is when saw all these loc'd folks going to work too. Nobody was looking at them crazy and they had a job (something my family was concerned I wouldn't have if I loc'd my hair).  It was then that  I knew I had found my people and it was time to try again.

One of the first people I met in New York was Greg Tate.  I interviewed him for an article I was writing about the Black Rock Coalition. At that time he was one of my loc'd bredren. I remember telling him that I was ready to loc again and he kind of gave me a speech about commitment. LOL!  About how much it would really take to maintain them and once it was locked that was it, and so on.  Then he pretty much told me, in so many words, that he didn't think I would make it down the loc'd road. That I would fall off around the time I started seeing too many naps. LOL!  I can laugh now, but then I sort of took it as a challenge.  Thanks Greg.

Before

So with the gauntlet thrown I began to loc, and boy did I loc. I loc'd through moving from Jersey (out of my aunts house) to Queens (in and out of my girls basement) to Brooklyn (into an apt with my girl Heather), through finding my tribe (The Tea Party, 452, Brooklyn Moon), through working on Long Island (CMP), through working in radio (MJI), a myriad of magazines (VIBE [2x], Martha Stewart, O, George, Harper's Bazaar, et. al), though starting a band (Shelley Nicole's blaKbüshe), making two albums, being homeless, and friends taking me in,  through love and heartbreak, loss and gain, cars [2] and no car, yoga, surgery, meditation, much partying, getting out of corporate America and several volumes of books filled with my personal New York adventures (literally I have journals for days). Seventeen years of locs and now I'm back to the beginning.  It's a fresh start and it feels amazing!

After!!!

Profile

The Back Jack!

I cut my locs with my friend Nye at her spot in NJ. As I held my locs in my hand, I couldn't believe they had been on my head. It was so time for them to go. They had served me well. They had rocked hard with me all over the globe. 

Nye and I had a great time on Wednesday.  She washed, cut and twisted the top, but we had to go see her barber Rossi for the final touches. So we drove from Newark to East Orange and stepped into the Lincoln barber shop. I hadn't been to the shop in 17 years so I had forgotten about the energy in there. I have to admit I love it.  Of course all of the fellas are on guard when you walk in, but then they are trying to get your number as things loosen up, but it was a great vibe.  Shout out to Rossi who lined me up,  made me feel like a queen and cut Nye some slack for being all up in his chair space. LOL! She was my hair producer after all.  I showed the barbers the locs I had just cut off and they were in awe.

Nye & Rossi

Me & Rossi

Side note: Fellas please chime in on your feelings about women and hair.  I need to know why some of you scoff at the idea of a short haired women.  

So now it's ceremony time. You know I have to do some sort of offering, which will happen when I get back from Europe.  In the mean time, now I'm in the market for hats, big earrings and a barber in Brooklyn. If you can supply any of these items for a women send them my way and I'll have a big hug for you.

Welcome the Year of the Rabbit. I'm ready to make my wishes and watch my dreams come true. How about you?

Me & Nye

WRFB: Radio Free Brooklyn: It's June 22nd and I'm in a New York State of Mind

Hey Everyone,

Tonight was all about my New York City. Some of the songs are part of the pantheon of my life here in NYC, some are from New York based bands past and present and some of the songs just have the New York vibe.  For all of your music lovers you know what I mean. Some music just screams the region that it's from. There is a definite New York sound.

I'm happy to also let you know that there will be an archive of the shows very soon! I can't wait for you all to hear what I've been playing for the last few weeks. Sorry this has taken us so long to get going, but that's community radio folks.

Much love to my WRFB crew; YankeeZulu, Christian John Wikane and Rob Fields.  We are having such a great time bringing you the music that we love and inspires us. Remember to keep spreading the word about WRFB: Radio Free Brooklyn.

You can contact the station at:
www.twitter.com/radiofreebklyn
www.radiofreebrooklynonline.blogspot.com
Email us at: radiofreebrooklynonline@gmail.com
You can Listen to WRFB: Radio Free Brooklyn 
Every Tuesday from 7-11pm at www.brooklynmovielabs.com/radio

Drop us a line or follow us on Twitter and let us know what you think or please leave a comment here. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks everyone and have a Happy Summer! It has officially begun.

Peace,
Shelley 

1. Mary J. Blige – “Be Happy” on My Life (1994)

2. B.B. & Q. Band - “Time For Love” on Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens Band (aka B.B. & Q. Band) (1981)

3. Colonel Abrams – “Trapped” on Colonel Abrams (1985)

4. A Tribe Called Quest – “Jazz” on The Low End Theory (1991)

5. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – “The Message” on The Message (1982)

6. Odyssey – “Native New Yorker” on Odyssey (1977)

7. Unlimited Touch – “I Hear Music In The Streets” on Search to Find the One (1983)

8. Musique – “In The Bush” on Keep on Jumpin’ (1978)

9. George Benson – “Give Me The Night” on Give Me The Night (1980)

10. Oleta Adams – “New York State Of Mind” on Evolution (1993)

New York State of Mind Archive! Enjoy!