applause

I had the distinct fortune of following up my jr. gong night with a night at the theatre. I went to a local studio theatre called The Woolly Mammoth. I saw a play entitled Starving.

In a word... excellent.

If you find yourself in Washington, DC area between now and the 18th of December, do yourself a favor and check it out. The play set in emerging 1950's Atlanta and deals with the complexities of a transitioning black community in the urban south.

Another note about the experience is that they did great job on the set design. The lesson to take home from stage sets is that the designer is tasked with conveying a wealth of spatial relationships in one, slightly mobile, structure. You have to convince me to believe that there is more... that there is depth... that there is a larger context and this fragmented physical structure is merely a sentence in that story.

I also believe strongly that there is a uniquely engaging spirit that surrounds smaller theatre companies. Be it the location, decor, or affordable tickets... It feels like you stumble, fall, and find a jewel every time.

when trenchtown man stop laugh an block off traffic...

Late night last night, I stopped in at the 9:30 Club to see my man, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley perform on the Welcome to JamROCK tour.

It was a jumpin.

I mean, I haven't had a wealth of live experiences in my day, but this one, in particular, struck a fire chord in my transplanted soul. It was a musical explosion tantamount to being on a base pounding bridge between my quazi-native soil and my gritty urban environment (a.k.a...down the street from Howard University)

It was live.

So... in the spirit of growing, I had a conversation with a guy, who could relate to the feelings of being born of multiple worlds... existing tangibly in one, but having your heart beat the drum of another. We started talking about the merits of Jerk Seasoning, both process and product.

Long story short... it is going to be necessary to build a respectably sized jerk pit at the site.

The spiritual, savory, and substantive merits of cooking within the earth are so inspiring, that I believe they are right up the alley of growahouse. Now mind you, I have little idea what it would take to build a decent jerk pit. Nor do I know where I will get a readily available supply of pimento branches, banana leaves, and of course, a few sheets of corrugated tin.

But I'm willing to learn.