Tribute to Lou Wilson on the Second Anniversary of His Passing - With Love

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

Today, January 7, 2015, marks a sad anniversary for me and my family.  It's the day that Lou Wilson, Love of My Life, made his transition to the realm of ancestor/angel.

Lou Wilson Love of My Life: October 25, 1941 - January 7, 2013 - That light to the right  looks kind of like an oddly shaped halo, doesn't it?

I've come a long way since that horrific morning when I didn't think I would ever stop screaming, crying and freaking out.  It took me a little while to deal with it.  This time last year I wouldn't have been able to be as calm in writing this as I am today.  But wiser people than myself knew I would finally get to a point when I could think about him without bursting into tears, or going through eleven dozen if onlies.

I know that everyone in the entire Wilson Klan - Ric, Carlos, Wilfredo -  are also stopping, holding their collective breaths and remembering all the wonderful, crazy, zany things that went to make up their amazing brother - his sense of humor, his love of children - especially our children and grand children; his love of and respect for education; his musicality (he oozed music from every pore); his uncanny ability to come up with lyrics, or a concept for a song off the top of his head just by having a lightweight conversation with someone, or hearing a tone, or a sound.

His wisdom, knowledge and understanding that he shared with our children - Kira, Rais and Adiya - is something they have never forgotten.  It's amazing what an impact a person can have on young minds, even when you thought it went over their heads.  Lou was that kind of person.  He was a natural born educator!   To hear our daughter quote things she remembered learning from him as a child, that she now teaches our grands, is awesome.

It's interesting to see certain positive (and, yes, negative) traits in our kids and know that they came by them honestly - (okay, some of those bad traits are from me, too).

I spoke with my friend Cathy Jones earlier and thanked her for pulling me through the most devastating period of my life - had it not been for her, and my homegirl Brenda Neal. I would have been a basket case.  Well, actually I was a basket case, but they kept me from crawling under a rock and never coming back out again.  And special thanks to brother/minister/friend Michael Beckwith and Rickie Byars Beckwith, of AGAPE Center,  for being there for me, as well as presiding over Lou's homegoing ceremony in California. 

Thank goodness for his wonderful legacy of music via Mandrill, Inc., the great lyrics with so many messages of joy, love, life, that he shared with the world.  I can just see him and Gil Scott Heron collaborating on a concept to both blow people's minds and wake them up at the same time.  They used to kick ideas around in our living room - now they're doing it non-stop in the Fourth Dimension. 

I thank God the Living Spirit Almighty for the time we spent together - the good, the not so good, the great - times we shared.  And I thank Him for making it possible for me to look back on all those times and truly smile - realizing that I will always treasure them as I move forward.

Of course I can't help it when I hear a trumpet, a conga player, or some great calypso music (his favorite) and not hear him somewhere in there playing along.  Or hear some really romantic crooner and think of how excited he would get about the lyrics and the phrasing (he loved Joe Williams and Jerry Butler's voice).  

The only sadness I have is that our wonderful Grand People will not have the privilege of growing up knowing this gentle giant that was their granddad - It's up to us - to share with them the great memories we each have and of how much he loved and delighted in each and every one of them.  His spirit is resident in each one of them, just waiting to manifest through their own sets of unique talent. 

I'm keeping this short, sweet and simple:  Peace Be Unto You Tall, Dark & Chocolate: Lou Wilson - Mimi Nikupenda Sana!!  Much Love and Fond Memories from your Glo

Stay Blessed & 
ECLECTICALLY BLACK 

January 7, 2015