Bob Marley, The Long Lost Friend

By Mario Kluser

I came across some timeless statements made by Bob Marley when I browsed the Internet aimlessly. He stated that Bob Marley wasn't his name and that he didn't even know his name yet. His music was a fight against the system in his eyes and the only side he stood for was God's side. He said that his music would go on forever. In his own words Bob Marley's only ambition was to see it happen that mankind lives together no matter what color or race.

I found these words very moving. It reminded me on the moment when I took the taxi from my second home in Brooklyn to JFK Airport in November 2008.

The taxi driver was Jimmy, a rastaman with big dreadlocks. I didn't count the times we high fived on the way to the airport during our enthusiastic conversation. Part of our conversation was the fact that even though I'm from Holland, Bob Marley had a very special place in my youth. I played his records every day for hours and annoyed my grandmother with it. I remember how she finally started singing Get Up Stand Up, whilst doing the dish washing.

Now, when I think back on this last day in Brooklyn, it almost feels as if the statements above could have been a sort of guideline for this conversation:

It's not the name given to you when you are born and what is printed in your passport that makes you the person you are. It's what you feel, what you say and the way you act what makes you so special.

Although I'm an atheist, who respects the beliefs of everyone by the way, I think that skin color and race isn't significant and I really share the ambition that I want to see mankind live together. Jimmy wasn't the only person that agreed when I said that I feel that we all belong together in a certain way. You and I. You and Jimmy, though you never met him.

We are together on this planet. No-one has more right than the other to be here and enjoy life. I ask myself how Bob Marley knew that his music would go on forever. As I wrote in my article 'Thank You, Bob' (on my blog) I find his music always refreshing and always think of him as a long lost friend when I hear one of his songs. Unbelievable that he died in 1981. It seems just a couple of years ago. I know that with me there are still many people out there missing our long lost friend.

Mario Kluser is a maverick who loves to practice different kinds of art, with a special interest for people and the human mind. As a writer he published two novels in the Netherlands. Visit him today: http://mario-live.com

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