California to Downtown Chicago to Mississippi Delta

It was nearly two years ago. I was sitting at Shaw's Crab Shack in Chicago. I'd planned a sales team dinner and I was, as usual, the first to arrive. Having been to this particular location in the past, I knew to ask for the private room in the back. I arrived at least 30 minutes prior to the event starting, as is my habit, so I brought a book with me, as is ALSO my habit. I sat at the bar for a moment or two (long enough to order a glass of champagne for myself – again, habit) and then introduced myself to the general manager, who walked me to our private room.

I was sitting for a few moments … just me, in a room with 29 other chairs, waiting for a gaggle of folks that I did not know. I'd made a single friend on the team (Scott), and there was a manager who seemed friendly enough (Cliff), but otherwise I was gonna have dinner with a whole bunch of strangers. I'm not good in crowds. I'm *great* one-on-one but, either due to my crappy hearing or my inability to concentrate on things I don't care that much about, I'm just not that comfortable in larger groups of people. So I wasn't looking forward to this evening, truth be told. I tried to calm my nerves by getting involved in my book … and found my foot tapping.

There was a jug-band-style song playing over their stereo system in the room. The waiter came over to me when I smiled and asked if he should turn the music down and I vividly remember my response: "Hell no man – turn that up!" He smiled and did so, and for a full two plus minutes, with doors closed, the two of us were in that room, big smiles across our faces. At the end of the track, I asked him to find out the name of the artist. My team started to arrive at this time, and unfortunately I never found out the name of the track, or the artist performing it. However, I had enough sense to write down several lyrics that I'd remembered and, the moment I was back in my room with my laptop, I did a lyric search and came up with Corey Harris – Fish Ain't Bitin'.

Corey Harris is a year younger than me, and he started recording in 1995. You could say he plays standard Mississippi Delta Blues … but you could say he plays Reggae … Gospel … Jazz … Caribbean and/or African Folk Music … and you'd be right.

And today, Corey Harris was named as a recipient of the 2007 Fellow of the MacArthur Grant, which means he's been given a stipend of $500,000, which he'll receive in quarterly installments over the next 5 years to allow him to continue to do what he loves and what he's best at.

Is it strange that a 5th generation Californian, Republican, old-money chick fell in love with the sound of a Mississippi Delta Blues artist while waiting for a dinner to start in downtown Chicago? Sure it is … especially as she hadn't set foot in the Mississippi Delta … yet.

Now? Hell, now it TOTALLY makes perfect sense.