Kenny Munshaw may Save the Country!

“What is my definition of jazz? “Safe sex of the highest order”… Kurt Vonnegut.  Today, Donald Trump had his day in front of the US Supreme Court, and news sources and court watchers are having an orgasm analyzing (more like guessing) what their verdict will be. I’ll save them a little time; I don’t know and neither do you. A group of experienced jurists will meet, discuss the case, weigh the case law and the constitution, and issue a verdict, all the while knowing that they’re making history. In the interim, the two people who’ll be most affected by the decision pretty much went on as if it were any other day. Donald Trump sat in the defendant’s chair in Manhattan, scowling until he could go home and send all caps texts telling the world he’s a victim. Joe Biden walked in a circle, read the instructions, instead of the speech, off the teleprompter and mused about his uncle getting eaten by cannibals in New Guinea, or was it in Chicago or L.A.?  Hey, they’ve both got a few rough neighborhoods where a guy could probably get eaten by cannibals, and Joe has been getting a little confused on a regular basis…I should probably be concerned by either of these guys being president, but I’m not, and it’s all because of a guy playing a piano. Last night, the Blonde Bombshell and I did our regular Wednesday night thing and went into Planter’s Tavern at The Old Pink House to listen to the great Kenny Munshaw play jazz, standards, and some classic rock. Sitting in a tavern that was founded in 1773, sipping Bushmills and listening to a guy who’s played on albums by all the big names, and whose list of friends reads like the who’s who of the music industry, is the recipe for a perfect evening, anytime. Kenny drifted down here from Canada and has become a Savannah treasure. If you get the chance to see him, don’t miss it. But music aside, last night showed me something I haven’t thought about enough; sitting in that piano bar was a cross section of America, visitors from all over the country, black, white, Latino, young, old, urban, rural, gay, straight and guess what? Everybody was enjoying everybody else, manners reigned supreme, and it made me realize there’s nothing wrong with us. The media may paint us as divided because that’s what sells airtime, but the average American remains strong, caring, and proud of who he is. See, it doesn’t matter who they put in the White House, we’ll survive, we’ve survived worse-they’re here for 4 years and we’re here for the long haul. I know this because I got reminded by a bunch of people watching a guy play a piano….