The chance to be here and not here

Listening to lots of Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Charlie Parker, and Ella Fitzgerald these days to immerse myself in the music being taught in the classes I'm evaluating. Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing incredible stuff teaching American history through jazz, connecting basic democratic ideals like freedom with jazz concepts like improvisation. The debate is going to start soon but I'm not going to watch it. I just can't stomach it. On the other hand I went door to door campaigning for Obama in South Philly this past Saturday and it was uplifting. 

Here's one of my absolute favorite songs, Nina Simone's version. "I wish I knew how it would feel to be free". Just gives you the tiniest inkling of a sense of how some people have struggled and how far they've come even though the fight is far from over.