Call Me Sister. Big Sister.

I'm a Big Sister now. As in Big Brother and Big Sisters. I've been matched with a girl who is a kindred spirit. She's seven and spunky and smart. So far we've made chocolate chip cookies, painted our nails, gone on several long nature hikes, and spent many hours working on her math homework. My little sister faces all sorts of adversity and challenges, but my job is just to be a friend and hang out. I've always wanted to be a Big Sister. I've always wanted to volunteer. I don't want to be one of those people who walk around with all sorts of theories about how to make the world a better place, but never lift a finger.

On my first "outing" with my Little Sister I was nervous. I'm actually quite shy. I worried whether or not she would like me. I put myself in her shoes and felt how nervous she must have felt hanging out with me for the first time. In the car I wondered what soundtrack to listen to. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't something too overpowering should we find ourselves in an ice-breaking conversation. I searched through my choices and settled upon Gregory Isaacs. His smooth voice seemed like the perfect choice.

It was a short ride across town to the coffee shop. Gregory sang to us. I sang along with Gregory. (And yeah, I can call him Gregory because even though he passed away several months ago he and I are still really close.) I looked in the rear view mirror at my new Little Sister and she didn't seem outwardly embarrassed at this crazy white lady singing while driving. Things were looking up. That tends to happen when you listen to good reggae.

After we settled down at our table at the coffee shop with sharpened pencils and math worksheets I suddenly realized that the soundtrack in the coffee shop was the exact same song we were listening to in the car. We picked up right where we left off! Seriously, what are the chances of that happening? It was Gregory! I'm not saying Gregory is completely rare and obscure reggae- but he's not the living legend that Bob Marley is- put it that way. Gregory was speaking to me. At that moment I became suddenly aware that I was having my second "Reggae Moment Of My Life Involving Gregory Isaacs." I knew that my relationship with my Little Sister was meant to be, and I was flooded with the knowledge that I was right where I was supposed to be doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. Gregory told me so.

My first "Reggae Moment of My Life Involving Gregory Isaacs" happened on my first taxi ride in Africa. We'd flown into Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania the day before. We got our bearings, adjusted to our jet lag, and got a taxi. I'm a sucker for car rides in foreign countries. It's something about being an anonymous voyeur behind glass that lets me really absorb my surroundings. People were walking to work or the market that morning- the women were dressed so beautifully. I looked down at my olive drab clothing and wondered how the hell could I have ever bought these boring clothes let alone chose to wear them? Our taxi drove onto a ferry where we waited to cross a river. There were other cars, and there were people standing all around our taxi. And Gregory Isaacs was playing! Babba and I looked at each other. We sang along. People were grooving along and so were we. My travel nerves started melting away in that instant. I felt at home here in this place I'd never been. Gregory was with us. I felt like Gregory was personally welcoming us to Africa, mon.