March 19th - Bazzaar (Atlanta, GA)

Last night, in celebration of professional achievement of one of Sweets' good friends, we visited a lounge called Bazzaar. I don't think I will ever understand why the interior of nightclubs and lounges have to be as dark as humanly possible. Is it to save on energy costs? If it is due to ambiance, does that ambiance include nearly knocking your teeth out while to attempting sit in a bar stool? I don't know.

Initially, I thought the evening was going to be forfeit. We had just come from having a deep discussion on the Pan-African movement and the issues surrounding the lack of unification among nations and tribes. A problem that I will never get rid of is my desire to heal the world and thus topics like that should probably not be discussed while under the influence of Sangria . However, when in the company of great minds from countries like Benin, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast it can't be helped. Thus when I stepped into Bazzaar hand in hand with Sweet Georgia Lover Man, I was a little amped. We ordered drinks at the bar and then saw a perfectly comfortable place to sit when this skinny, under-endowed waitress came over to tell us that we couldn't sit there unless we ordered something from her. Huh? I put my hand up and went back to the bar. In Africa, resources are being plundered by outsiders and children are starving with little or no access to health care while leadership is spending ridiculous amounts of money on birthday cakes and this little so and so is sweating me about sitting down in a non-reserved spot when we've already paid the establishment for drinks? Aye Caramba!


Sweets instructed me to take a deep breath. We toasted to life and then discovered that Bazzaar had an upstairs. There we found the rest of our friends dancing to a ridiculous selection of music that should not be played when the overall goal is to get people to dance. And then...all of sudden...we were having an awesome time. I personally love watching the rhythmically challenged cut loose. The folks here had good reason to do so. We were in the company of medical students who would be graduating in May as MDs. On this day, these students had learned they'd been accepted for residency programs at the hospital of their choice. We were amongst dreams being realized and investments that had cashed in. That's a beautiful thing.


At midnight, my honey turned 31. What exactly is 31 other than two years the junior of Jesus or the year after 30? For us it was going to be an all day party, an excuse to smile and a deep appreciation for the blessings of this odd existence. Until tonight....