Stoneman
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9/4/2020 1:18:55 AM
Rehearse: The life you save may be your own.
Growing up in the hood I had this group of friends who eventually became my subordinates in our neighborhood club that the police referred to as a gang. But really, all we were was a singing group. We spent everyday rehearsing songs accapella. But when we walked down the streets the police always hassled us because they thought we were thugs. But no, we weren't thugs. I mean, well, we were a bit thuggish but we didn't hurt nobody unless they tried to hurt us. Anyway, we spent our days standing in the alley singing songs by the Temptations, The Dells and other groups like that. Of course while we rehearsed we also drank wine and smoked herb. One day we decided to take a walk to the park so we could harmonize in the pool area where they had a big natural echo chamber. Now, it should be noted that this park was not a very safe place to be. Two years before then I had seen a man get decapitated by a machete wielding hooligan in that same park. For the life of me, I just don't know why we liked to go to that park but we did and it was always trouble. This one particular day all 6 of us decided to walk down to the park and hang out. We laughed and talked all the way on the 5 mile journey.
Once we got there we went over by the pool and sat down to get high on some herb and wine, While we sat there I noticed about 5 cars filled with dudes parking on the other side of the park. My buddy said: Aw shit, here we go! Here comes trouble. My other buddy pulled out his pistol to make sure it was loaded and we watched as about 15 bodies got of those cars and started walking towards us. I stood up and commanded everybody to get ready to run. But it was then that I saw a group of about 10 other guys coming from behind us. It was too late. We were stuck. So, I told my crew that they might not even be tripping on us and that they might just keep walking by us. But as they got closer i knew that we were in deep trouble as I could see that they had baseball bats, knives and a couple of zip guns (for those of you that don't know, a zip gun is a handmade pipe gun that was popular among street gangs in the 50's and 60's. A very crude device that often injured the shooter as much as the victim. My friends all stood up in anticipation of a conflict while I ram-shacked my brain looking for a solution. Within seconds they were upon us. Their Ace (leader) asked: What set y'all from? I replied that we were not from any set and that we just wanted to hang out at the park. Then he said: But you can't hang out here without paying the entrance fee. This is our park and we own it. So, I asked what the fee was and he said that I had to let them beat the shit out of one of my friends and that I could choose which one. That's when I stopped and thought about it for a moment. Then, without any warning I started singing: "Childhood part of life wasn't very pretty" and right on cue I heard my background singers sing: do, do do do! "I was born and raised in the slums of the city! do, do do do!. This continued on until we hit the chorus part "I'm doing fine, on cloud nine." Before I knew it their Ace was smiling and clapping his hands and then they all started dancing and partying while we sang The Temptations "Cloud Nine" song. When we finished, they were laughing and clapping so we started right into the next song which was a medley of Sly & The Family Stone songs. They started firing up weed and brought out some wine. It was so awesome until the cops showed up and ordered us all to disperse.
There is no doubt in my mind that if we had not been well rehearsed and sounding really good, I would not be here to tell you this story. You see, in situations like that it is the Ace that usually gets killed first. I was obviously ours so I would have been murdered if not for our diligent rehearsing without any music at all. Being well rehearsed saved my life that day. So remember folks! Daily rehearsal can be a life saver.
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Mike Lance
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9/4/2020 11:56:12 AM
Thank you for sharing these stories. I'm at once both disturbed by the reality you've endured and the events you've witnessed, and moved by the power music has throughout. It's amazing how profound an impact such an intangible art can have on the lives of so many. I am glad that you're with us today, Stoneman.
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