~~~
“Dearly belov`ed,
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing
called life.
Electric word life,
It means forever and that’s a
mighty long time.
But I’m here to tell you that
there’s something else — The
afterworld.” – Purple Rain Script
This blog post is in essence the second part of “Blessed Before…Blessed After” in the prior issue. I discovered via one of my favorite newsperson’s Facebook status that Prince Rogers Nelson was coming to Columbia, SC on March 21st. The ‘Welcome 2 America Tour’ is an extension of the tour began in late 2010 in New York.
It was a surprise to all because well it is Columbia, SC. Maybe John Blackwell the New Power Generation drummer who has roots in Columbia, SC had an impact or Shelby Johnson who reigns from Greensboro, NC. This news was discovered the weekend prior to me starting work at a new job but I still had a small balance in savings and the cash on hand for tickets. I had learned to use credit only when absolutely necessary.
I persuaded my awesome husband that yes we definitely needed to attend the concert, I didn’t care if he had already seen Prince. It turns out in 1980 and 1986, good grief the man has much more music since over 25 years ago. I should mention that tickets went on sale less than 6 days before the concert, correct less than 6 days. Fast forward to after the concert it was absolutely amazing; our seats were great. The concert was truly better than I ever imagined and no indication whatsoever that Prince was slowing down.
You may wonder what all this Prince talk has to do with faith. From the beginning Prince has shown a faith and belief in his music and his art. He did start out a little risqué (well okay very risqué) but over time he has developed into a solid amazing musician, songwriter, and even mentor. Still his faith was strongest when he was fed up with Warner Bros. and took a stand, changing his name to his famous ‘Love Symbol’ until his contract ended.
During the time of the ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’ or for short TAFKAP he was still writing and creating, which from it developed the New Power Generation. More than likely there was some concern about whether he would do well branching out on his own without a major label backing him but as we all now know he has done quite well.
If you haven’t figured it out, I am definitely a Prince fan. It began in 1983 when a dear sisterfriend Sheree introduced me to his music. It was solidified on July 27, 1984 after seeing 6 showings of the movie ‘Purple Rain’ on opening day. And it has grown ever since. I must admit, I am not a superfan like the gentleman in the attached photo, who happened to get a chance to dance on the purple piano but I truly am inspired by the songwriting style of the purple Yoda (in the song Laydown he sings, “from the heart of Minnesota, here come the purple Yoda).
Since he has passed the half century mark he is even better than ever. With more confidence and experience as well as the love of fans he is giving us his all. In addition, he has chosen to self-improve by letting go of the use of profanity in music and general cursing. I never thought until recently that a good example of faith could be derived by reference to Prince but he does have a song named ‘God’. So maybe the sign of the time was given to us way back when.
Finally, while researching all things Prince for this post, I discovered that Duane Nelson half-brother of Prince passed in early March. At one point he was the head of security for Prince, who better to protect you then your own brother. However, for reasons I do not know nor desire to dig up he was no longer employed by Prince when he died. In summary, for me faith in God and my own ability are what I focus on. No matter how perfect a celebrity or any public figure may appear they have issues that may even put a crack in their own faith.
~~~
PaisleyPerspective 