Remember when you were grown and gone and thought you knew everything? Then you realized there was some stuff you didn’t know, but was too proud to ask anyone who really knew. You survived but realized that there was a lot of things you didn’t know.
Fill In the Gap Issue 2021
In Fill In The Gap Magazine, we are telling the stories of women who have something to say about all that has happened in the past couple of years.
Read Issue 2021
It was the story of how 2020 really went down. Was COVID-19 real? What did the pandemic really cost us? Read our take on the thing. 2021 Issue of Fill In The Gap Magazine
Both of Bessie Smith’s parents died when she was young, because of that she did not get a formal education. To raise money for her family, she and her brother become street performers. Yet she was able to transform her life to become one of the biggest blues singers in the country.
She had to believe she could do it, in order to do it.
Tell yourself you are able. You can do it. Whatever it is.
A few years ago I did a photoshoot with costumes and the whole bit. I wanted to focus on women who had impacted history. This month I will focus on some of those.
This week I want to focus on music because it has its own life in the culture.
Empress of the Blues was one of the titles Bessie Smith was known for. She was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She started her career in 1912 traveling with Ma Rainey as a dancer. By 1923 she signed with Columbia Records where over the years she made over 160 recordings. She toured vaudeville and later did a show on Broadway. In 1929 she appeared in the movie, St Louis Blues. Her music dealt with the social issues of her day, Jail House Blues, Work House Blues, Prison Blues. She was injured in a car crash in 1937 where she later died from those injuries.
The City. The Chicago River. The Drawbridge. Construction. Pink. Blue. Green. Silver. Tall. Short. Reflection. Grey. White. Peace. Calm. Quiet. Moving. Flowing. Life.
It was the story of how 2020 really went down. Was COVID-19 real? What did the pandemic really cost us? Read our take on the thing.
Read Fill In The Gap Magazine Issue 2021
See the skyline? Yesssss!
Even on a cloudy day, you can see the city buildings that form downtown Chicago. In the second image you can see the neighborhood street that is lined with cars, trees and street lights that also point to the skyline. Just like the buildings, the people of the city are just as creative and complicated.
We have just experienced a time when the world stood still. In the 2021 Issue of Fill in the Gap Magazine we share some of our stories. What was it really like? Did it really happen? Read our stories.
2021 Issue Fill In The Gap Magazine
The interesting thing about the elevated trains is that you get to see the building up close and personal. There are no cookie cutters when it comes to the architecture of these buildings. They are unique. They are new. They are old. They tell a story of a very old city with a lot of personality.
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