MYSTIC BAGGAGE CHECK

~a dream~

Dedicated to Ray Charles, Father of Soul

4/12/04

This morning I dreamt I was in an airport, to see someone off on their flight. The person has already boarded their plane and I see they have left behind a small piece of hand luggage, quite old fashioned, made of woven blonde straw, with a small black leather handle.

A handsome man wearing a suit shows me the small piece of hand luggage and says to me, “This baggage is going onto an airplane to be shipped back home to the East Coast.”

“That baggage is MINE!” I shout, “It belongs to ME!”

The handsome man looks a bit surprised and replies, “Then we’re going to BURN it! I just wanted to know for sure who it belonged to.”

I look at the baggage. It really IS very old and old fashioned. And I definitely don’t want it. I also realize I haven’t seen it nor used it, for a very long time. It wasn’t my style.

“That bag is older than Hell, itself,” I think, “yet, it does belong to me and I have a right to it.”

“Just let me peek inside,” I say to the suited man, “and then we can decide what to do with it.”

Agreeing, the man hands the bag over to me.

Opening the tiny silver latch, I gently raise the lid, feeling by now quite curious as to it’s contents. For such a small piece of hand luggage, it is surprisingly heavy, weighing about as much as three bricks.

“I’ve held onto this baggage for 50 some years,” I say, “I think it belonged to my parents and their parents before them. Who knows how far back this thing goes?”

As the lid opens, I hear a ‘click’, the sound of laughter, and then a song begins to play from inside the luggage.

“Huh!” I say out loud, “It’s laughing and playing music. It never did that before.”

I listen in disbelief, as I hear the lyrics to “Imagine,” sung by John Lenon, himself, with full musical accompaniment. Next, to my amazement, follows “My Sweet Lord,” by George Harrison!

“Gee!” I exclaim, “THIS is unusual!”

Next follows Ray Charles, singing “I Got A Woman,” and “What’d I Say.” By now the folks in line at the baggage check point are movin' and groovin', laughing and having a Wonderful Time!

Snapping the lid shut, I say to the man,“Wow! You can’t burn this! It has something new added onto it. Here. Open the lid and see for yourself.”

I hand the man the bag and he opens the lid. Immediately he smiles, as we both hear laughter and then the sounds of a full marching bagpipe band, which is so loud you can hear it throughout the entire airport.

“I’m Scottish!” he says.

Next, he hands the bag to a curious airport attendant. She opens it and looks quite bewildered as we hear laughter and then listen to “Who Let The Dogs Out? Who? Who? Who?” and some Hip Hop.

“My boyfriend likes this kind of music,” she says.

She hands the bag back to me. As I open the lid, I hear laughter and then the Big Band Sounds of Glenn Miller playing “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, followed by “Moonlight Serenade” and “Tuxedo Junction”.

“My Dad had his own Big Band in New York when I was just a kid,” I explain to everyone in the little crowd that has gathered around us. “I heard this kind of music every day until I was 31/2. He held me on his lap and we would listen through earphones to his recordings. We had all kinds of recording equipment in our den!”

“Cool!” a listening stranger says, “That should go into a museum!”

“Huh!’ I say, again. “Great idea. I’ll take this baggage after all, and donate it to an ‘Oddities Museum’.”

We are all so enthralled with the surprise of laughter and music coming from inside the baggage, I almost forget to check it’s contents.

I sneak a peek inside.

“Empty, ” I say. “Completely empty, except for the little mirror glued to the inside of the lid.”

I study my own reflection for several moments, before closing the bag, and notice my face looks a bit different than usual. It actually looks more as it did when I was a very young child. By this time, Glenn Miller has come nearly to the end of “String of Pearls”, so I close the bag with a little ‘click’ and the music stops playing.

Mystified, I leave the the small crowd of onlookers and the airport, holding the heavy, woven, blonde hand luggage tightly by it’s small black leather handle. Limping slightly from the weight of the empty bag, I wonder why the heck it weighs so much, since it’s empty?

“Yes, this certainly belongs in an ‘Oddities Museum’,” I think, and drive on home with the lid open, hearing all my favorite music from this entire lifetime.

I hear The Classics by Mozart, Beethoven, Scarlotti, Pachelbel's Canon in D, and Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Next comes lots of Rock, R&B, Jazz, Latin/Raggae, Pop, New Age, Swing, Retro, Gospel and Soul. I hear Hall and Oats, Steve Winwood, Jefferson Starship, Earth Wind & Fire, INXS, Ella Fitzgerald, BB King, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Sade, Dire Straits, Miles Davis, Enya, Sting, Van Morrison, Tina Turner, and Kool and The Gang.

“This is Wonderful!” I say to myself.

Next comes Deva Premal and Miten, Prem Joshua, Ravi Shankar and his daughter Norah Jones. There are more than I recall. It’s a Loooooong Drive Home. The Hits just keep rolling in, ending with “Breezin’” by George Benson.

Upon awakening from this dream, I make myself a cup of coffee and walk outside in my slippers and bathrobe, to the deck. There I sit softly gazing at the morning sunshine warming the redwood trees, sip my coffee, and listen to the brook.

Remembering the dream, I feel my eyes closing, and I imagine how this dream would end.

Yes, there it is! The little suitcase is in a museum!

I see it is in the New York Museum of Mystic Delights, over in the ‘Humorous Oddities Wing’. It sits on a white pedestal where people can open it to see their reflection in the small mirror glued to the lid, hear laughter, and listen to their own special music. Everyone is Movin’ and Groovin’ to their favorites. Some who listen to Classical have tears streaming down their faces, lost in some Mystical Experience.

Oh Look! There is a little sign posted on the wall behind the display!

The sign reads:

“MYSTIC BAGGAGE CHECK”

Each individual opening the lid to this baggage will have a truly unique mystifying experience.

Installed inside is a mysterious mechanism, a sensor, which resonates with each individual’s personal vibrations.

These personal vibrations then create music from within The Sound of Silence, itself.

Every individual is unique, and as will be each musical experience.

Also, you will notice inside the lid a small mirror designed to reflect each individual’s “Original Face.” Be sure you spend some time reflecting upon your own personal image, before moving on to the other items in our gallery.

Oh yes. Did we mention the laughter?

No one seems to know who has created the magical qualities in this hand luggage.

‘Mystic Baggage Check’ has been donated to the New York Museum of Mystic Delights, especially for the Humorous Oddities Wing, by it’s former owner, Anupama Deanne Kallman.

Kallman says she “carried this heavy baggage with her for 50 some years, only to find upon examination that it was Devoid of Content”.

Needless to say, she was as surprised as everyone else, to discover the unusual new features which have appeared within this completely ordinary baggage, as if by magic. Saving it from destruction, she has graciously donated this truly mysterious piece for all to enjoy and speculate upon.

Donated by Anupama Deanne Kallman, 4/12/04

To view a video clip and hear Ray Charles' newest release from Crossover Records, “Thanks For Bringing Love Around Again,” visit:

http://www.crossoverrecords.com/

copyright, Anupama Deanne Kallman, AHA! STORIES

Paintings courtesy of JazzPainter.com, by H.J.Hohimer

DROP THE BAGGAGE

One of my favorite musicians, Miten, has created one of my favorite pieces, "Drop the Baggage." It is available on his album, BLOWN AWAY. Great lyrics, WONDERFUL dance music! All is published and copyrighted Prabhu Music, 1999. All rights reserved. Available at www.mitendevapremal.com

anupama@ahastories.com

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