Moon River

We visit the Sunset Hotel tonight; Ian, Frank, me and Ugutu. Ugutu, a co-worker, is Luo and he's keen to expose us to their traditional music, called Ahangla. Reverend Obondi, our boss, shows up around 10 p.m., wearing a baseball hat and drinking beer from the bottle. He seems to know everyone here, and the place is packed. More white people here than I've seen anywhere else in Kenya. They mingle amongst the black people on the dance floor, doing the smooth Luo style of dancing, which is a gentle shifting of weight from foot to foot, with the shoulders hunched, but relaxed, bouncing to the beat. We dance and when it rains, because our table is uncovered, we dance some more under the shelter, making the dance floor our lounge area.

Music is life-affirming and can be inspirational. Moon River by Henry Mancini seems to fit my life right now. And it reminds me of a very special loved one, my Huckleberry friend who's after the same rainbow's end. I hope music and life can provide him inspiration enough to explore. So I share these lyrics with him and the world, as a reminder of the heart's ability to dream:

Moon River wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heartbreaker,
Wherever you’re going I’m going your way,
Two drifters off to the see the world, there’s such a lot of world to see.
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waiting ‘round the bend,
My huckleberry friend, Moon River and me.

Here's to traditional music and relaxed dancing and drifters everywhere, off to see the world. And there's such a lot of world to see.