The other day I sat in the middle of the street! I thought it was pretty amazing. I never would have imagined that one day I would get to sit in a chair in the middle of Times Square in New York with hundreds of other New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world.
The last time I sat in the middle of a street was in the 60’s in Greensboro, North Carolina during a civil rights demonstration. But, we didn’t have chairs.
Me, sitting in the street in Times Square.
The sign that tells you what is going on.
People sitting in lawn chairs and beach chairs in Times Square.
People sitting in colorful fold-up chairs in Times Square.
I was thinking about the date April 22, 1987. I’ll never forget that date because that was the the date of the night I performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City in the Apollo Amateur Night. The Apollo Amateur Night theater audience can be ruthless. They make Simon of American Idol look like a fairy godmother. However, for some reason, I wanted to sing on that stage and I wanted to sing with the Apollo Theater house band. This was a few years before the shows were televised. (more…)
The title says it all. Yes. You’re about to hear the confessions of a 2.0 Social Network dropout. Perhaps there is an intervention that can save me. If you know of one please let me know. (Don’t write it on my wall. Do not tweet.) Call me — on the telephone.
Wambui Bahati, a.k.a. John-Ann Washington, shares a powerful, personal and important story about mental illness, self-esteem, self-love and courage. She was born and raised in the segregated south during the 1950s and 1960s and has sprinkled the narrative with significant national historical events, and how they personally effected her life. She invites us in for a behind the scenes look at her years as an actress on Broadway and in national touring shows.
At times hilariously funny and always relentlessly honest,You Don’t Know Crazy presents an intelligent, informative portrayal of bipolar mood disorder and its effects on Bahati’s self-esteem, career, relationships and day-to-day coping. (more…)
On October 5th I had the pleasurable (is pleasurable a word?) opportunity and honor to present a keynote address which included excerpts from my one-woman show Balancing Act and a Clinician Session entitled The Person Behind the Diagnosis at the Colorado Behavioral Council 2008 Training Conference at the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center in Breckenridge, CO.
“The Colorado Behavioral Council (CBHC) provides a network of skilled therapeutic and community resources to meet the mental health needs of all Colorado residents and their families . . . Throughout Colorado, thousands of individuals once isolated and disabled by mental illness, are now leading productive, satisfying lives.” — I copied this information about them from their own website.
These are a few photos I took while in Breckenridge. Of course, coming from the inner city of New York, I was in awe and blown away by the natural beauty - and quiet - of this area. The people weren’t bad either.
I woke up this morning feeling emotionally heavy and uneasy. I have dealt with depression before and that is what this was starting to feel like. I decided to consciously use three simple strategies that worked for me in the passed. Within minutes I felt renew and enthused again. I share what I did in this podcast. (more…)
I’m sitting across from the Taj Mahal Casino. Lost my $20 gambling stash in about 3 minutes. I did win $15 at one point, but I lost my head and was thinking I might at least win $25 if I kept going. No such luck. I’ll have a walk along the beach and then head home. I guess I’ll have to keep my day job— oh! I forgot. I don’ have a day job. Yikes!
I had a really great time doing nothing yesterday. I guess this is what is sometimes referred to as chillin’. I realized I don’t do nothing (or chillin’) often enough. I do meditate. Is meditation considered doing nothing? I suppose on some level, it is. Is it safe then to say that meditation is doing nothing with your eyes closed, while chillin’ is doing nothing with your eyes open?
These are a couple of the pictures I took while I was doing nothing in the cement park next to the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City. Compared to so many other scenes, these are nothing special. However to me the scenes were –well, as pretty as a picture.
My two favorite places to shop are the two major TV shopping channels, QVC and HSN. I remember when the networks were first born and thinking, “This is really cool.” My favorite brick and mortar store in New York City is Bed Bath and Beyond. Okay. So these are three places where I shop. But, we all shop somewhere, at sometime, for something.
However, there are only a few things that we really need. Some of these things are food, water, shelter and clothes to either keep us warm or cool depending on the climate we live in. Many of the other things that might be necessary to our survival are the things that people say can’t be bought - like love, sense of security and peace of mind. Do we shop for so many other goods because we see them as the way to having love, a sense of security and peace of mind? How did we become a nation / a world of consumers? The attached 10 minute video may help to enlighten.
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Me singing on the Apollo stage, 1987.
I took this picture a few weeks ago.
The title says it all. Yes. You’re about to hear the confessions of a 2.0 Social Network dropout. Perhaps there is an intervention that can save me. If you know of one please let me know. (Don’t write it on my wall. Do not tweet.) Call me — on the telephone.
Wambui Bahati, a.k.a. John-Ann Washington, shares a powerful, personal and important story about mental illness, self-esteem, self-love and courage. She was born and raised in the segregated south during the 1950s and 1960s and has sprinkled the narrative with significant national historical events, and how they personally effected her life. She invites us in for a behind the scenes look at her years as an actress on Broadway and in national touring shows.
I’m sitting across from the Taj Mahal Casino. Lost my $20 gambling stash in about 3 minutes. I did win $15 at one point, but I lost my head and was thinking I might at least win $25 if I kept going. No such luck. I’ll have a walk along the beach and then head home. I guess I’ll have to keep my day job— oh! I forgot. I don’ have a day job. Yikes!
