From $86 million to $700 billion

Posted on | October 13, 2008 |

Chicago…  I blogged while there.  I loved spending time with my aunt and cousins.  Confession – part of why I’m on this tour is to see my folks in as many cities as possible!

We stayed with a marvelous older sister, E. Dali.  Her home is called NIRVANA.  And rightfully so.  It’s one of those homes where your senses are immediately in a state of bliss.  It smells divine.  The temperature is perfect.  The colors make you feel like you just ate the best meal of your life.  You want to snuggle.  You want to have dreams there.  Yes, it WAS truly that deep. Lol

First there were 5, then there were 7!  We had Summerlynn and now Layla Love – Alixa and Naima’s dope photographer friend – all chillin’ in NIRVANA.

Luckily, we got to see Trouble the Water and to meet Tia and Carl (producers and directors).  They looked as exhausted on their tour with the film as we surely looked.  Mama Lou and Huey had fallen asleep as some point during the film.  And though I didn’t want them to miss one part, I knew how tired there were.  So I let it be.  And Tia gave us the trailer for Trouble the Water so we can show it in the next cities we visit where the film is showing nearby.  It is no coincidence that they are on tour to promote their film and we are on tour to promote… well, the transformation of humanity. J

Before leaving NIRVANA – of course it can’t be all glitz and glamour – a toilet seat cover was broken, a treasured item in the home went missing, and we watched on CNN as the financial crisis went from $86 million to $700 billion.  The crew was convinced that the rack in the back with cubes of vegetable oil was partly responsible for the sway (along with our bus contents being too heavy for its frame), so Pippi was determined to get the second “dirty” tank attached so we can quickly create a filtration system that enables us to put unfiltered grease straight into the car and we can stop lugging grease along.  She, Mama Lou, Tetris, and Huey were under that bus for hours detaching and breaking down our rack, and attaching our second tank.

So before leaving Chicago, we got a new door blocker – the broken down rack – and a spiritual cleansing by E. Dali.  It was complete with sweet smelling incense, a drum, and a neighbor-waking “Ashe!!!!!!”  And off to the University of Illinois – Urbana, still swerving, grrrrrr-ing, and shaking!

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