Tumbao in Virginia
An Inauguration-Weekend drive through country-store America
When I get fed up with the ongoing reality TV show that has taken over the news, I spend a day or, if I can manage it, a long weekend driving around Virginia. Not the Northern Virginia of Arlington and Alexandria where I used to live and owned an apartment for many years, but the parts of Virginia where high school LED signs announce a basketball game has been cancelled so an emergency meeting about a new mosque can be held.
Comment from author Ayeh Bandeh-Ahmadi
Tumbao, noun,ˈtüm-bau̇-ō, rhythm, swagger, graceful movement. In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called tumbao.
This is a story about the 2017 Presidential Inauguration Weekend and the reflection that came afterwards.
The story and all its details are true, although the anecdote with the Hawaiian man is borrowed from a trip I took in Virginia in Spring 2016.
It also includes an anecdote about a class activity at school, when I was in first grade. My Muslim and Middle Eastern friends (and some of those who fit neither description) might sense the discomfort that this clash between Western and Iranian ways have sparked in my family back in 1987. I remember vividly that debate about whether I should participate in that class activity.
I wanted to tell a story about tension and discomfort, about whether and when and why we take steps toward them or away from them. For me writing is a good exercise for this. I write something and I see my own reflection in my writing. I think about how others will react. I close my eyes and try very hard not to think if it makes me look good. But I think about whether it will land, if it will be understood, if it tells something real and uncomfortable.
Was it worthwhile to spend time on that piece? Did it turn you off? Did it make you feel uncomfortable? Satisfied? Happy? Did you relate?
It is a dance, and the beat continues.
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