Aretha Franklin
Written by the Scribner
January 17, 2022
Aretha Franklin, Musician. Photo by John Mathew Smith.
The word is getting out there, young miss, you make me feel like a natural woman. I love the song, but the woman, not so much. Can I say that?
I am Aretha Franklin, the one and only. The voice of America that tells the deep story, using music to touch your soul, speaking to you in a language of love. I have had difficulty life in life. My struggles are public and documented.
My funeral was a spectacle, and yet, I sit down to communicate with you about my life and self.
I come from a history of knowledge or knowing. Music was our vehicle for communication, and it was a way to reach the divine and be in communion.
Life is interesting because you have all the trappings, and what money can buy you, and most importantly, what it can’t. It cannot buy love, affection, the things that make us human and makes us belong. It is not something money can buy, and it took me a lifetime to learn that lesson. And I am still learning it, and that is what I want to share today.
My collective message is that love is everything and above all things. Money can buy you a nice house, mink coat, fur, or whatever you like, the trapping of life that everyone seems to be chasing, but love for oneself and for all things is something. The love that allows you to rejoice and to commune with the divine, the love that says I appreciate all that I am, that love that is something everyone should try to cultivate as much as possible because it will make life a lot easier. That love makes living with ease a possibility, no a reality, (what am I saying)....
To my family, everything I got, you own, no need to fight or quibble. You are all my wonderful flower and my petals are all of yours, so don’t fight as it upsets mummy.
I love performing for President Obama, he is like a son, and I am full of pride for him and his family, especially his black wife, south side girl, Michelle. These two are something, hope they remain an item and continue to soar. They do need each other, sort of like water and sun needed to make a plant grow. That’s all for now.
Stay safe and be good.