The Lookout

Photo by Axi Aimee on Unsplash

I walk toward the stage and am handed a microphone from the brave soul who went before me. I position myself so that I can see both the audience and the TV projecting the lyrics, as if I don’t know them by heart. As the first few notes of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” pours out of the speaker, I give the audience a sly smile before I begin to sing. I belt this icon’s time-tested anthem until the saxophone bellows and the lyrics disappear from the screen. Instrumental…