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Now life goes on and I need to keep on creating and recording even in the face of something so tragic.

The look she had said it all but yet left so much unanswered.

I walked back towards the studio
feeling lucky to be alive and part
of a new American spirit. I was proud to be
standing in the City of Heroes. God Bless America
and nuff respects, Rick

I remember driving into the city on the way to a recording
session and you said look at that city, that is my city.

I wanted to comment on something very positive
that I witnessed at the O'hare airporte in Chicago on Sept 24th.
I had connecting flights from Chicago to Detroit, Memphis , Tampa
and on to Bloomington, Jamaica where I would shoot some music videos.

We are supposed to live every day to
the fullest as if it is our last.
Keeping that in mind there is no reason
to fear terrorism. In the present moment
there is no room for fear. If today
is my last day then I am going to live!!!!!
Let's not let the media hook us as the
stations compete for our attention. We don't need
those thoughts in our head in the present
moment. Irie! Americans have no fear!
It took several hours to go by before I realized that
I was in fact not dreaming and that the world would
never be the same again. At first, I selfishly wondered
how it would alter my opportunities to travel.

The only problem was I had been used to writing poems about Islands,
The Good Life, parties and friends. Now I was writing about dust and the concrete jungle.

The big steel bird has been the middleman making it possible for me to stir my passion in the present moment on many a road less traveled. It was the gateway for me to meet people of different cultures different ways of life. One of my passions in life has been learning from other people and culture.
I have prided myself with the ability to be open towards other cultures and ways of life.
Air travel has also helped me soar to greater heights in my musical career and has helped me search deep into my soul on many occasions. Flying the friendly skies has also heightened my awareness many times as I starred out the window of the plane painting pictures in the sky and watching big city lights flicker.
This big bird has also been vital for the recording of my last cd and as well as my current musical project in New York City. The city that had once put me in a magical
trance while I walked from Penn Station to 110th street is now delivering a much different vibe.

On 9/11 as I rose up in the morning, there weren't three little birds sitting at my door step singing sweet songs of melody. There were four birds that had put tears in my
eyes. I felt helpless, scared and lonely watching the Bird's as they were guided by terrorist taking thousands of lives and destroying monumental landmarks that stood for American ideals.

I begin to see a nation
come together as one. A nation that could have
been torn apart would join together and face
one of the biggest blows imaginable.
I soon realized I had risen from my bed
on 9/11 to one of the biggest reality
checks delivered to me right on my TV.
I had expected something similar to this to happen during y2k. I even had video taken of me next to the towers playing my guitar after recording a song in Manhattan that I had written about y2k. Then the night before Y2k I hopped on a plane and went to my favorite place in the
world-- Bloomington, Jamaica. I said goodbye to my family and gambled with the island. Like John John JFK Jr. I too have flown very close to the sun. But today 9/11 the sun that had been shining over New York City was trying to work its way through a cloud of concrete dust and smoke that some people would later depict as the Devil. Maybe we can look at it in a better light. Is it possible those people died for our sins?

Big up to all the people in the world who have come together to fight terrorism.

The Big Ball is not perfect

I wrote that song in Bloomington, Jamaica on the top of a light house trying to maintain my sanity one stormy evening. Now that I am back in the states I feel like I need to search for it again. My sanity. Some lady at Sams Wholesale Club flipped me the bird for a parking space today. Instead of putting a banana in her muffler I just took a deep breath. Irie! Rick