It's Great To Be Black In Palm Coast

My nephew is a dentist. Lives in Warren, Pennsylvania. Does my teeth for free so of course I visit often. I will show you my implant some time. Anyway, he was trying to pull a root out to make a hole for an implant post and he had lots of trouble. Broke a drill. Said he had only seen patients with that dense a jawbone in one other place. The local prison where he does pro bono work. They were all black. Seems there is a little known but common characteristic among many black Americans; dense bone.

Also, when I was working in the garment district for DuPont and passing as Jewish I took advantage of the fact that whitey would not acknowledge many blacks had skinny calves, thick thighs and asses about an inch or two higher than whites; round asses that stick out. I loved the asses and the attitudes of the black girls in my high school (1951-1955 Neptune, New Jersey) and had my favorites. (Janet Lee I hope you are reading this. Roslind Leonard, where are you? You, too, Fern Stewart. Write me on Classmates)

Anyway, at DuPont in New York in the 60’s I worked with a couple of casual slacks manufacturers who had the right cutting patterns for African Americans with well-muscled theighs and high asses. They catered to the uniqueness of this black market and were very successful.

I gained minor fame within Dupont for passing as Jewish (just add an “n” and I become Teddy Leshner) and introducing the new synthetic fiber, Dacron polyester, into the casual slacks for blacks market. Got a bonus. Wash and wear. Easy care. Black and Beautiful everywhere. Rah Ray Dacron. 

Today fashion conscious woman everywhere are paying lots to get bee sting lips. Black is still beautiful!

Anyway, this dentist nephew Paul Boger asks me if I am Italian. I remind him I am half Sicilian. He says AhHa (or was it Ha Ha?) and tells me about how the Moors from Africa conquered and ran Sicily for a while. So the evidence is there. I am part black. What the hell. In my youth whitey said one drop would do it. I can see lots of common traits in me. And I know a bit about the Palm Coast Black community. I was into new threads in the ‘60s. So let me start a new thread again. “Being Black in Palm Coast” I will create a string of pearls for this new Blog. Black Pearls on a white thread. I love it!

COMMENTARY: The Jazz Society, several churches,  all the golf courses, there are lots of places where whitey can be politically correct and make some fine black friends. Then there’s the duplexes in the P section and some streets in the R’s if you want to score some drugs or join a nationally 1ed gang; but they ain’t where I am going. I am going to take you to some Cosby type http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gh3_e3mDQ8&NR=1some uppity and some proud to be Black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ggrIbX0TE&NR=1 spots and gatherings here in Palm Coast.

My first post will be after the black and white mixer taking place this Saturday night. After we go to hear my nephew J.B. Scott (white) www.myspace.com/kellyscottmusic and his tweet wife Lisa Kelly (white)  play at:

SATURDAY 24th / 7:00pm

THE ST. JOHNS RIVER CITY “SATIN SWING”

JB Scott-Jazz Trumpet, Lisa Kelly-Featured Vocalist

Palm Coast United Methodist Church Concert Series

5200 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, Florida

Ticket Price is $15

Phone Number is 386-445-2098

Is there a white and black difference in jazz? No color prejudices. Just something about how you should to learn to play-educational disagreements. Discipline vs soul? I don’t quite understand it because I am mostly rock, country and gospel fan; don’t know anything about music except how to dance and what I like to hear, and it seems not politically correct or practical to talk about it-the musicians just all play together and love each other. Say La Vee.

Anyway, JB is a tenured professor in the Jazz Studies program at U of North Florida under Bunky Green, he is in charge of the First Band and teaches trumpet. JB was leader of the Dukes of Dixie and studied under Arturo Sanibel. See http://www.kellyscottmusic.com/ and come hear some great music and meet some good people.

And join our Northeast Florida Jazz Association, NEFJA, here in Palm Coast. They are a terrific group with a wonderful program. http://www.nefjaonline.org/ Or call Muriel McCoy, President-who is doing a great job running the thing since her husband Jeep crossed over-(well…call me and I will give you her number-386-503-1101) .

Namaste Bro, Paison or whatever