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RESCUE ME – the Story of an Almost Forgotten soul, in the Soul of a Hardworking Neighborhood

Nothing much happens in our little town of Overland, a suburb of Saint Louis – this is where I have made my home since moving from Ft Lauderdale in 1998  and now, France, in 2011.    The biggest thing that might happen in Overland some days- is dumping some shock in the spa, breaking into the house when getting locked out, or going to get my eyebrows waxed and embracing that incredible pain when she starts with  above the lip and then the chin.  “I am MY grandmother!!!”  I shout in pain,  as she removes the hairs that  are growing EVERYwhere.   The other excitement while back home was getting THE Christmas Card, quite lovely, but from the Bellefontaine Cemetery.  Okay , folks, we know that I’m getting “up there” in the age thing – but honestly?  Bellefontaine?      Must you?   And the greeting of ….. Peace on earth Goodwill to ALL – no signature – kind of eerie – I’m thinking – wow, I’m that old……. That I get a CHRISTMAS CARD from a CEMETERY?!?!

WELL, there was some news – that actually mentioned OVERLAND in the news the other day.   It seems that the  American R&B  singer, Fontella Bass died the day after Christmas 2012. She was best known for the 1965 hit “Rescue Me”.  She was the wife of jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie and the sister of David Peaston a gospel singer.

Yep, she was from our hood.   She lived on Pasteur, right down the street from Richard, my airline buddy friend.

I remember dancing to that song.  I remember hiding liquor in a (new) douche bag so that my mom wouldn’t see us putting rum in our cokes when I had a “new home party” back in Aretha Franklin days of “Rescue Me.”  That song that Fontella wrote catapulted Aretha to the top of the charts.  It was indeed, her best song.

Rescue Me (Fontella Bass song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fontella Bass remained popular in Europe, where she toured occasionally.  She made a memorable appearance at the Womad festival in the UK in 2001. She was also sought out by young producers such as Jason Swinscoe of the electro-jazz group Cinematic Orchestra, but when Swinscoe travelled to St Louis in 2007 to record vocals by Bass, he found her in poor health, having suffered a series of strokes.

Bass is survived by her children, Neuka, Ju’Lene, Larry and Bahnamous, and 10 grandchildren. Bowie died in 1999 and Peaston died in 2012.

• Fontella Bass, singer, born 3 July 1940; died 26 December 2012,  Saint Louis, Missouri
• NO, she was not that old either…….only 72.   Rest in Peace Fontella Bass.   Thanks for the memories………..
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9769797/Fontella-Bass.html
• is the one of the best articles on her. She lived for a while in Paris and cut the acclaimed albums –  The Art Ensemble Of Chicago.

Fontella Bass star_3702 (Photo credit: MBK (Marjie_ BLUEBERRY HILL  SAINT LOUIS MO 

English: Art Ensemble of Chicago, New Jazz Festival Moers (Moers Festival) 1978 left to right: Lester Bowie, „Famoudou“ Don Moye (half covered), Roscoe Mitchell (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    Related articles

•       Fontella Bass obituary (guardian.co.uk)

Finding EACH OTHER in *ICY* Amsterdam

Whoa! It’s been forever since I’ve written. Home for the HOLIDAYS.  Lovely time all around.  But!    This is a Non-Rev story – for my airline friends and anyone who must fly standby……..It’s GOOD NEWS!

Finding Each Other in Amsterdam !!

Crossing the bridge to the RESISTANCE MUSEUM. Fabulous!

 
We didn’t at first, and then we did.  But to coordinate the flights was actually pretty cool.  Now we “NONREV’S”  are able to book a zed fare with a participating carrier anywhere in the world, as long as you have your computer, iPad, iPhone, whatever.

So, I booked from the US, my husband David,  on a Marseille to Amsterdam flight.  Nothing to it.

He had it saved to a flash drive (since we have no printer in the apartment) and then took it down to the little shop in our village of Cassis. They printed it out.  You must have  a “hard copy” of the zed pre-ticket/booking. Everything with names on the paper and on your passport must be identical.   David then took it to the airport in Marseille – boom boom -AirFrance  handled it quickly and efficiently – not like the first time we did it.  Then (in October) it was a brand new procedure, and the agents were making a lot of calls to get the boarding pass to print.  Now, it’s a breeze.

David arrived at 11:15am from Marseille to Amsterdam on Friday.    I arrived from the midwest United States  to Amsterdam at 10am.  I waited by Starbucks, then went to meet him. Had apparently just missed him, and since the “CHOCOLATE AIRPLANE DISPLAY “ was no where to be found – (which is where we were supposed to meet – turned out it was behind the boarding gates)., we finally met each other with our forlorn looks right in the center of that big Amsterdam Airport.  Not bad.   We return to Marseille on Sunday via the same Zed fare deal.  You “NON REV’S”  get the “armchair booking” going. It’s almost like being a regular passenger!! They are fast  easy and not costly.