Orchestra Level

Nov 20, 2011 by admin

Yesterday, I went to the Majestic Theatre in Dallas with my parents and aunt to see a play.  Earlier that morning, guided by the instructions of my father, I purchased the closest seats available; orchestra level.  As we drove to the theatre my father mused, “Baby Gal, we used to go to this theatre when we were in high school.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmm hmm.  And, we used to have to sit in the balcony.”

Damn.

I imagined my mother and father, teens and with lives sprawled before them, as the dignified people they are today, relegated to “the balcony”.  Anger first, then amazement. In their lifetimes they’ve had front row seats watching the winds of change blow through this country.  They’ve marveled the inventions of technology that no longer stays leashed to a wall by a coiled chord but that now fits nicely in your purse, ringing in the ring tone of your choice, and goes wherever you do.  They’ve grown bored of the newspaper and have opted for the Times online.  They’ve watched a Black President sworn in, with no help from them (hopeless, helpless Republicans) but with pride in their hearts at the progress of a nation that once limited them, young and fancy free, to the back, the black, the balcony.

Yesterday, we sat orchestra level with tickets purchased with the blood, sweat and tears of those, like my parents, who once wouldn’t have dreamed such a thing.

America, God shed his grace on thee . . .

Peace and Blessings,

Nicole Walters