It was the late 70's and Natalie Coles' Our Love permeated every city, country, ghetto, suburb, valley, hut, condo, village, barrio, shack, island, prison, maternity ward, asylum, cardboard box, etc. We'd throw impromptu talent shows on the porches or the ramp as some folks called it at the drop of a hat. We'd collect a quarter from all the participants and audience members and the winner would take home the earnings. A leggy girl group sang 'Giving Him Something He Can Feel'...a nice looking guy with a gold tooth sang 'Always and Forever' to a great round of applause. Some guys performed 'Float on by the Floaters' another girl group sang a Supremes song.

Roosevelt or 'Rosie' as he was affectionately called behind his back.. because he was somewhat feminine sang Natalie Cole's 'Our Love' as he sashayed and sauntered down the slender catwalk we called a porch or a ramp with his taut and lithe body and batted his long flowing eyelashes as if it was his own private runway belting out, "Our Love will spread as wide as the seas and will never die...and we'll always be together...we got a good ole fashioned love...ooh...ooh...ooh...bring it down just a little...we got a mighty mighty...love...' endearing himself to everyone.

Parents and kids clapped and yelled and begged for an encore. Word spread and kids told their teachers at school and teachers asked Roosevelt to sing for them. Anyway, my group was a dance group called L' Seven which was fashioned after who else Rick James...clad in red and black...and dancing to Bustin' Out. We didn't win but hey you can't have everything every time you wake up. Damn it Rosie won! My mom use to always say that Rosie looked like Prince to her...and I never got that out of my big ole head. Anyhoo, I got a chance to see Natalie Cole when I won a pair of tickets from V103 in the 90's at an outdoor concert in downtown Chicago and when she sang 'Our Love' I thought about Rosie...Rest Well, Rosie, job well done.