These are the Only Two Suckers I Can Trust

“This afternoon I am not going to have you up on your feet bopping to the music. I am going to make love to you. I am going to sing songs that you make babies with.” With that introduction, she kept her promise.

She was large, sexy and sultry. Without pinpointing her age, it appeared that she came from a generation that still considers it impolite to ask a woman her age. Grey hair, black skin, full lips and a smile that stretched from here to eternity. Her name was Lois Smith – she was one of the highlighted singers at the Cape May Jazz Festival. Her voice was like butter. It was powerful, yet her execution appeared effortless, thoughtless. She reminded me of a child completely immersed in her pretend world without any regard to who might be watching or eavesdropping on her play. She captivated the audience with her sound and moved them with her presence. No matter what she may have experienced in her life that may have caused her pain, when she sang it was clear that she was in perfect alignment and she was living her passion. Everything was right in her world the moment she stepped onto the stage. Even when her song sheets fell from her hands in a mess on the floor, she was still in her element leveraging the incident to connect with the audience and make them laugh. She was graceful and as I looked around I could see that she had successfully lured in each and every person in the room with her dulcet tones. Among the list of songs she performed, she indulged us with her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Stormy Weather, and At Last. I could hardly catch my breath witnessing such a magical performance.

As she paused between songs, someone from the audience approached her with an envelope. As she tucked it into the front of her blouse to store it safely, she turned to the audience and said “These are the only two suckers I can trust.” She had the crowd roaring with laughter.

Imagine playing your career with that much passion? Imagine stepping into it with that much abandon and freedom? Imaging being so aligned in your work that the whole world can see it? What would it take?