Tell the Truth, Ruth

Facebook haters must all be twelve and never fell out of touch with anyone they considered a friend. Without a clue to where they've gone, or where to look, friends get swallowed up by the mists of time. Then suddenly they are on the pages of Facebook. Fantastic. Today is a prime example of what I mean. I got a FB friend request from someone I knew in my 20s when I was trying to be a songwriter. The request said "Tell the truth, Ruth" and it came from Sigidi Abdullah. He sent me his phone number and I called him in a split second because he's one of those people that I truly missed having in my life. I grinned to myself while dialing remembering what he looked like back in the 70s. He seemed about six eight or so, all Afrocentric and skinny. Sigidi's hair was also about six eight or so--sideways. He had this loping walk and his hair would lope right along. He was also a fantastic songwriter/musician. There was a group he led called Conjur. I always got a kick out of the names of the group members: Sigidi, Ronji, Umbagi and Harold. I loved the way the names rolled of my tongue until you got to Harold! Our Harold was killed a few years ago by some silly bitch who rolled through the intersection of Pico and LaBrea at too high speed. Anyway, Sigidi and I wrote some songs together and one called "Willie Pass the Water" was recorded on somebody or other, it might have been Conjur, I don't remember. But since writers can't help themselves, Sigidi had to tell me the lyrics to a song he'd just written and I laughed outloud in pure joy--from having to listen again and because the song was so great. It's all good, Sigidi. Also coming out into the light, my old friend Fred Wesley from back in the day when I taught Sam & the Goodtimers their first choreography. Of course, you know Fred from James Brown and George Clinton fame. Just the greatest trombone player in the world. There are others, wonderful newsman Larry Carroll for instance. More on this subject later from Ruth Adkins Robinson