[Dixielandjazz] Tuesday Night At The Landing

[Don Mopsick]

Here's something interesting that happened Tuesday night at the Landing.

You may know that I am responsible for signing up Landing guests for our
email newsletter Jazz Me News. I do this by passing out sign-up slips during
the band's breaks. I have been doing this for about 5 years now. This was
the first time I have ever experienced anything like this.

It was late and we were about to begin our last set. A party of 5 had just
sat down, so I went over to them and plunked down the sign-ups as usual,
explaining what they were for. A man in the party asked me, "Are you a
Republican?" "No I am not," I replied. "Then take this back, I'm not
interested," he said. The woman he was with said, "You can have mine too." 

"But I'm an Independent," I said. "Oh, in that case I'll sign up." I gave
the slips back to them. I hastily added, "But I'm voting for Barak Obama." 

"Take these back then, we're not interested," the man said. 

Another woman in the party, concerned for my feelings, said, "That's OK,
I'll sign up."

This was the same night that I had seen on the local TV a story about a
Texas man with a white beard who was getting his gun arsenal in order. When
the reporter asked him why, he said, "Well, if the Democrats get back in
power..."

Our political climate is getting, as Alice said, "Curioser and curioser." My
hope is that we don't wind up at some point through the looking glass.

Now, the Landing is not totally devoid of any political symbolism. There's a
giant wooden American Flag piano hanging right next to the bandstand. In the
months right after 9/11, when every business on the Riverwalk was displaying
some kind of Flag, people asked me how long that wooden flag had been up
there. "Forever, as far as I know" was my reply. 

Right next to the Flag piano is a series of huge reproductions of photos of
Louis Armstrong, who was also famously not a-political.

My point is that jazz (especially pre-WWII jazz) and the Landing in
particular does not go out of its way to present any particular politics
other than, say, pure joy. So the fact that someone comes to our club with a
political agenda and a clear chip on his shoulder about it represents, for
me at least, some kind of high water mark for our times. 

My hope is that the Landing guest I met Tuesday night is merely one angry,
unbalanced individual and not an indication of things to come. I'll keep you
posted. 

mopo