Coffee for the Tillerman . . .

Saturday. Sofa. Coffee

I love Saturday mornings on the sofa with coffee and a whole day in front of me that will not be directed by the lines of an appointment calendar or the orders of a judge. Make no mistake, there is a long to-do list, but it is not mandatory, and I wrote it. (Not literally, it is just in my head) Maybe it is more accurately a may-do-if -I-want-to list, but that is a bit cumbersome. May-do list works well.

As you can discern from the length of time and consideration I just put into what to call my list, I have little desire to do anything right now but sip my freshly brewed cup of joe and write. It is good to admit and enjoy the gifts and talents that God has given us. He gave me an extraordinary gift for sipping and appreciating coffee, His unmerited flavor. And I am cultivating a gift of sofa sitting.

I was watching the Colbert' Report a couple of nights ago and was transported to a different place. I love Colbert, but he was not the driver of the transport.

His guest was Yusuf Islam. Back in the day we listened to him as Cat Stevens. I was a music parasite in college, depending on my roommate Doug for his music library. Fortunately it was very good, and eclectic. I already was a fan of Cat Stevens pop music, but the three minute radio blurbs were just a tragic tease when compared to fading off to sleep to all of the cuts of the classic albums "Tea for the Tillerman" and "The Teaser and the Firecat."

"Where do the Children Play," "Father and Son," "Wild World," "If I Laugh," "Bitter Blue," "Moon Shadow," "Morning Has Broken," and "Peace Train," to name a few, were soothing lullabies, even with the subtle pointed messages they carried.

So it was good, very good to see my old friend Cat, now Yusuf, on Colbert. He converted to Islam at the very peak of his career in the late seventies. Selling his guitars and other worldly possessions he spent years doing work among the poor and oppressed, an expression of his understanding of Islam. He has become recognized internationally for his work beyond music.

Yusuf is a very humble man, soft spoken and bright. Even Colbert was reluctant to give him the full Colbert treatment. Uncharacteristically he let Yusuf complete a few sentences. Colbert is obviously a member of the same club as I.

Yusuf said a few things about what he had been doing, answering Colbert's accusations that he had no right just to quit putting out music as he did, when so many of us had claimed him as our own.

But he just said there were other important things he had been called to do. He said the writing of songs was just a gift, something that came to him easily, which he always appreciated and loved. So from time to time he comes back to it.

And he has again. There was no apparent effort to change with the times. With the first strokes of his jumbo acoustic guitar and that soft, familiar voice that always sounds like he just woke up or stayed up too late, you knew it was Cat, or Yusuf.

He sang a new song called "Roadsinger," the title song of his new album, which will not disappoint old friends, and will probably gain new ones. It seems to be a veiled autobiography of his time away from us.

It was good to see and hear my old friend.

Assalam.

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