The Reasons why I love Miss Natalie Cole (SEXY AND SOARING @ 60!)

I was 11 years old, living in the projects of Southwest Washington, DC, when I found a pocket-sized Webster's Dictionary in the trash. I don't know who through it out or what. But I found it and it changed my life. I kept it with me and I would commit to learning a new word everyday. Words like UBIQUITOUS and RECALCITRANT and others were dripping from my lips in 1975, in the hood, but I did not care. I was already an "outcast" because I was fat and asthmatic (so I couldn't take the heat of DC summers and I wasn't always able to play like others). Anyway, that dictionary became my refuge. So I was in my own world until one day, a beautifully stunning woman came into my world. I was watching the Mike Douglas show, out of Philadelphia, when he introduced a young singer who had a family legacy and was related to Nat King Cole. As my mom was a huge NKC fan, I knew that the person he was talking about was Black, so since that was a rarity in 1975 on television, I froze and paid attention. Out came this loving young woman with the afro of life, singing a song called THIS WILL BE that sounded like the Baptist Church Momma had just started taking us to earlier that year. So after her rousing song, I sat mesmerized as she came over to sit on the couch. As Mike interviewed her, she spoke of college and history and it changed my life forever.



By the time the credits rolled, I was in love. She had spoken about college and life and legacy and it was amazing! When she sang "Inseparable," my mind lit up and the word shifted my soul. Black people didn't use words like that. Songs didn't get sung with clarity like that. I ran to my dictionary, looked up the word, realized how brilliantly she had used it in a sentence (remember when your teacher told you, in order to use a word, you must SPELL, DEFINE IT and USE IT IN A SENTENCE) and I was in love! Natalie Cole became my everything in that moment and she remains so much a part of my being today.



Over the years, Natalie has been my rock and her diction and cadence and way of being, her quotes and using words such as "rectify," "Inseparable," "Unpredictable" and such which became a part of my everyday language. I adore her and I am so proud to call her friend today! She's spectacular!



Even in her struggles (drugs, illness, tremendous public loss), she has remained gracious and grateful. I love her and we shared a very special lunch one afternoon when I was in LA for a conference. She took me to Kate Mandelini's (sp) and we were there for 3 hours. She talked to me about life and my son and being gay and a pastor and how I was able to have such peace in my soul about it and when my son called to check in from NJ after school (he was a sophomore in HS at the time), she grabbed the phone and Aunt Natalie was talking to her nephew about school and his grades and life. It was beautiful and for that and so much more, I will always love Ms. Natalie Maria Cole!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE! TRUST THAT 60 HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GREAT!