Kenny Chesney's 'Life on a Rock' Tickles my Soul

Kenny Chesney has had a long association with the Virgin Islands. His album 'Life on a Rock' is a touching salute to his experiences there. His commentary on the following video says what he feels much better than I could:



St. Thomas' nickname is actually "The Rock" because all of the Virgin Islands is essentially rock formation that was formed during volcanic eruptions eons ago. What is above water today was once, for the most part, on the bottom of the ocean. That's why, particularly on St. Thomas it is difficult to grow food ... you won't go too far beneath surface soil before you hit rock.

When Kenny makes the statement about craving that way of life ... my heart totally responds. It is difficult for many people to understand that desire, that need for a simplistic lifestyle, natural beauty and acceptance based not on what you do, but just on a human level. To say it sooths the soul, is an understatement.

In 'When I See a Bar' he said: "This song defines a time when I first started going to the Virgin Islands, and I had a group of people I became great friends with. They didn't know what I did, or they knew and didn't care." That just says it all.

When I think back to my Virgin Island days, I see myself sitting on the beach looking out at that blue-green water, and experiencing such peace. My entire time there was a healing experience; not from any particular thing, just from life itself. Somehow I think Kenny is feeling me on that.

ALISON HINDS AND SQUARE ONE: ABSOLUTE MUSIC ROYALTY

Hi everyone,

Although my heart has been present, I have been absent from the blog-writing process for some time now. There are many reasons for my MIA status, the most important being that I couldn't log on to my blog. I know it sounds silly, but for some mysterious reason, I couldn't log in, and when I tried to reset my password, it simply didn't work because the email to reset was being sent to an old email account that no longer exists. All of this happened at a time when I had MANY other challenges in my life, and decided that signing on to this blog was something that could wait. Well, the wait lasted much longer than intended, but I am back. Can't say the situation is straightened out because it isn't, but I'm working on it. I could disappear again. If so, I will start a new blog, and give up on this one.

In the meantime, one of my most memorable experiences while living in the VI was seeing Alison Hinds and Square One perform one Jouvert morning in St. Thomas. They took us into the start of Jouvert. If you're familiar with Alison, then you know she and the members of the group have always been hailed as much for their masterful 'wining' as for their singing. After leaving the Caribbean, I had lost touch with Alison. Well, recently I looked her up on YouTube, and was happy to see her still doing her thing; still performing, still beautiful, and still dancing. What a joy!



The center photo is a 1998 hit that was revived for 2011 Carnival: "Alison Hinds - Faluma/Makelele" (official music video) Check it out on YouTube.

Alison Hinds is not only the 'Queen of Soca', but is true Caribbean music royalty. I understand that she has formed another group, so maybe the old days are really just that. I am just so happy I had the experience of seeing Alison and Square One in person. I was front and center for their performance that night, and I still remember it as if it was yesterday.