This Blind Guy Bought Me a Drink

Back in the late 70's, I was in New York on business. My employer, back in North Carolina, kept an apartment in the city on Central Park west and 58th St. In the evenings, I would take in some of the popular theaters, pubs and small neighborhood pizza shops, and found my way into a few of the more popular night clubs. New York, New York! What a city! So much to do all hours of the day and night!

One evening, I caught a cab, and had my driver drop me off at the famous "Birdland Jazz Club" on W 44th St. All the best jazz men and women played at Birdland's, at one time or another - great jazz! The club is not all that big, so it was usually crowded. The night I was there I was lucky I saw one empty stool at the bar and quickly plopped down on it. I asked the two black guys sitting next to me if my stool was saved for anyone, the blind guy next to me said no. We started a small conversation about Birdland and all that Jazz! My new black friend then asked me what my drink order would be. He offered to buy one for me. We continued to carry on our conversation. I was curious why he was still wearing his dark sunglasses inside this already dark night spot. He told me he came to Birdland's a lot when he was in town and had even played there a time or two himself. "He did?" I asked myself. "Who is this guy? Should I know him? And then, it hit me! I asked my blind, black friend if he was Ray Charles! He smiled and said, "That's me!"

Dang! I had been sitting next to the famous Ray Charles, and "Ray" bought me a drink! Suddenly, I felt famous!

As the famous Rosanna, Rosanna Danna of the hit TV show Saturday Night Live used to say: "It just goes to show, you never can tell!" Although, I'm telling you now, this really happened! Me and Ray were in Birdland's back in the late 70's, and we had a drink together!

Comments

"We Need Life Flight!"

"We need Life Flight!" Desperate words when lives are in serious danger! It happens, all too often, especially in bad weather, traffic accidents or when a family member suffers a stroke or has seriously injured themselves. Memorial Hermann Life Flight is based in Houston, Texas and provides critical care medical air transport services within 150-mile radius of the Texas Medical Center located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1976 by James "Red" Duke, MD the service operates around the clock - weather permitting - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Life Flight is able to transport up to two patients at a time, with each flight staffed by highly skilled personnel and equipped with advanced emergency equipment and necessary medications. There is so much more to know about Memorial Hermann Life Flight you will enjoy visiting their web page which I provide here. ( My accurate source of this important information and yours.) https://memorialhermann.org/services/specialties/tr...

Get away to New Iberia

Founded by Spaniards in 1779 on the banks of the Bayou Teche, New Iberia eventually became home to French settlers known as Acadians, who had been driven from Nova Scotia by British troops. The Acadians, who in their new home became known as Cajuns. When my dad, who worked for an oil company, got transferred to New Iberia from Houston, we had to move from the big city to this small country town in south Louisiana. A culture shock for me! I was 15 years old back then and had to leave all my friends back home in Houston. I eventually, made new ones in my new "hometown." It was tough! However, I wound up loving New Iberia and all my new Cajun friends. My mother was a nurse; she found work with the Jefferson Island Salt Co. on nearby Avery Island - it was one of the biggest employers in the area at the time. How do you get to New Ib...

Secret Codes of Your Flight Crew

Maybe you have been on a commercial flight and overheard your flight crew use some kind of weird "code-talk". They do this when they need to communicate with each other without the passengers knowing what they are talking about. Could be harmless chatter among themselves or it could be something a lot more serious. Here are 10 examples of their interesting "secret code-talk". 1. "Deadhead": A crew member who is traveling as a passenger only - not on duty. 2. "Slam-click": When a crew member stays in their hotel room until it's time to fly. 3. "Code-bravo": Flight crew uses this term to distract passengers while they may be attempting to take care of a serious problem. 4. "Air pocket": A nice way of saying hold on to your drinks, bumpy ride coming up! 5. "The sin bin": Coming into Vegas? No, it's the area your plane is holding in while waiting to takeoff. 6. "Blue-Juice": Tropical drink? Nope! It is ...

What's Up Melton?

Search This Blog