Veronica Jorge is out of the office this month, so we’re running one of her columns from our archives. Hope you enjoy it!
Hispanola, which means the “Spanish island,” became the first Spanish settlement in America. It is my mother’s native country and today we know the eastern section of the island as the Dominican Republic; a fertile land abundant in mines and minerals and rich in a great variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and flowers, where the sun shines brightly year round.
The merengue, the country’s traditional music, embraces you throughout the island for dancing is an entirely social activity independent of holidays or festivals. Any gathering includes dancing because Dominican’s don’t just listen to music, they live it. Emotionally, the merengue celebrates life wherein you partake of the rhythms of love, family and friendship. The most skilled dancer moves in unity with their partner, as one.
My mother, Celina Antonia Luna de Jorge, (isn’t that lovely? Like a song in itself), left her beautiful, beloved island, and part of her heart, when she came to America at the age of seventeen. Like most of our ancestors, her family traveled to America in the hope of a better future. I’m happy to say that she found it. (She had me!).
Mom is most fully herself, most fully alive when she is surrounded by her family and cooking us all of the traditional delicious foods of her country. She fills and satisfies us with her peace and joy. And like the savory aromas that waft through the air, she makes our hearts swirl to the rhythms of her warmth and love.
And that’s what I want my writing to be like; a dance of words wherein writer and reader move in sync and taste the flavors of love, friendship, loss and new found purpose, joy and laughter. Writing that, in spite of sorrowful events or hardships, celebrates life and fills the reader with hope that today is indeed worth living.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I love you!
Veronica will be here next time on May 22nd.
The Top 10 1960s Billboard Hits
Enjoy the waltz down memory lane!
2. 1961 Tossin and Turnin by Bobby Lewis
3. 1962 Stranger on the Shore by Mr. Acker Bilk
4. 1963 Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
5. 1964 I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles (Ed Sullivan Show)
6. 1965 I Can’t Get No Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
7. 1966 Ballad of the Green Berets by SSgt. Barry Sadler
8. 1967 To Sir with Love by Lulu
9. 1968 Hey Jude by The Beatles
10. 1969 Sugar, Sugar by The Archies (You’ll get a kick out of the animation.)
Wendell Eugene: A Night to Remember
Rain drops drizzled
from the night sky,
café lights twinkled
in dream-lit New Orleans
you strode gracefully–
ninety and one years of life
trailing grandly behind
your trombone
dazzling on the stage,
you raised a toast to
the joy of living
among fans and friends
I watched you tune
your gleaming instrument,
lifting it to your lips
with the ease
of one who knows
an old Fidus Achates–
as one who has carried
ecstasy and heartache
through time’s mist
and glory
my eyes
transfixed upon
shimmering brass
as you played
wondrously
you turned to the applause,
our eyes met, you smiled
awed by your presence,
charmed by the smile
of a music man
who brought jazz to life
every night
for me, it was a first time,
and perhaps the last
at that fine restaurant.
©Neetu Malik
In honor and memory of Wendell Eugene (1923-2017), the longest-performing jazz musician/trombonist of New Orleans.
You play the piano, I listen—
notes slide off
your fingers
smooth as ambrosia,
dripping a symphony
or a ragtime song
into my senses
parched for so long.
Thirsting for the heady
intoxication to fill
my emptiness
I turn to see your
graceful form,
your dancing fingers,
mesmerized
the world slips away,
as drop by drop,
pure enchantment
shivers briefly
then sinks into
the deepest
tunnels of me.
© Neetu Malik
This poem was first published in The Australia Times Poetry Magazine.
Hispanola, which means the “Spanish island,” became the first Spanish settlement in America. It is my mother’s native country and today we know the eastern section of the island as the Dominican Republic; a fertile land abundant in mines and minerals and rich in a great variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and flowers, where the sun shines brightly year round.
The merengue, the country’s traditional music, embraces you throughout the island for dancing is an entirely social activity independent of holidays or festivals. Any gathering includes dancing because Dominican’s don’t just listen to music, they live it. Emotionally, the merengue celebrates life wherein you partake of the rhythms of love, family and friendship. The most skilled dancer moves in unity with their partner, as one.
My mother, Celina Antonia Luna de Jorge, (isn’t that lovely? Like a song in itself), left her beautiful, beloved island, and part of her heart, when she came to America at the age of seventeen. Like most of our ancestors, her family traveled to America in the hope of a better future. I’m happy to say that she found it. (She had me!).
Mom is most fully herself, most fully alive when she is surrounded by her family and cooking us all of the traditional delicious foods of her country. She fills and satisfies us with her peace and joy. And like the savory aromas that waft through the air, she makes our hearts swirl to the rhythms of her warmth and love.
And that’s what I want my writing to be like; a dance of words wherein writer and reader move in sync and taste the flavors of love, friendship, loss and new found purpose, joy and laughter. Writing that, in spite of sorrowful events or hardships, celebrates life and fills the reader with hope that today is indeed worth living.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I love you!
See you next time on June 22nd.
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More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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