***The Roots Is The Toots- The Music That Got Them Through The Great Depression And World War II…

 

…he was glad, glad as hell, to be off the troop transports, away from the sinking sweat of men, nothing but men, in close quarters who had been getting on his nerves from about mid-ocean to the portals of New York. Who had been stinking too of too many cigarettes, too many carbohydrate- loaded foods, and too much boozy talk and card-playing bravado. And the naval cadre who were stationed on the ship were worse, taking advantage of their superior status as regulars on the ship to force G.I.s, guy who had seen plenty of action on all of the European fronts where there were fronts, to swab decks and other house-hold chores because those bastards were too lazy to do it. And because they could force the issue if it came down to it.

So once he hit New York, hit landlubber dry land he headed straight for the Diplomat with his pent-up dough and got himself a room with all the trimmings. Of course a guy who has been ship-bound and has spent some serious dough to repair his self-esteem was thinking of nothing so much as heading out, or in this case heading down, to the nearest hot spot and checkout, well, the women what else. And so it was that night in the ballroom of the Diplomat. That night when he from nowhere North Adamsville up in Massachusetts saw more young women dressed to the nines.  (Little did he know that these women were wearing last year’s, or from the year before’s fashions and were not feeling dressed to the nines that night. Although they were as thrilled in their own way as he was), swaying hips, or just swaying, to the sounds of the new cooler be-bop sounds that had begun to take hold since he had been away.

That night he just danced with every girl who would dance with him, drank an ocean of liquor (and brought many drinks all around as well) and was happy. There would be a next time for finding a gal to share silky sheets with …