I'm just wild about rabbit holes

And they're just wild about me

So in classic HD fashion, once I saw that a couple of people had chosen to actually sign up to this newsletter I was like…

“Where do I start?”

“How often should I write for?”

“What should the frequency be?”

You get the idea. I’m not sure how many of you can relate to this, but this is the way my mind works. Ideas and thoughts literally flowing in and out all day. As such, I’ve been a big fan of tools, services and practices for helping me get those ideas out of my head.

And in future notes, I’ll share those resources with you as well.

Now let’s see if I can put those lessons to work and stay consistent with this newsletter.

Knowing that all things can change, I’ll start by setting a timer for 10 minutes and knocking these out. Once the timer goes off, I’ll wrap up the thoughts and send it your way!

Total random rabbit hole of today…

I have an account on Discord and thought it would be fun to use the name ‘WildAboutHarry’.

Having been born in 1970, for some reason I remember hearing that song on TV, or in a movie or a cartoon somewhere and for obvious reasons, the title stuck with me.

So a quick internet search today led me to a Wikipedia post about the origins of the song “I’m Just Wild About Harry”, which was originally written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show Shuffle Along.

Imagine my surprise when I read that it “was was the first financially successful Broadway play to have African-American writers and an all African-American cast.”

Shuffle Along was a significant theatrical success that “ended more than a decade of systematic exclusion of blacks from Broadway.” The show opened in NYC at Daly's 63rd Street Music Hall on May 23, 1921 and ran 504 performances.

The venue was actually a converted lecture hall that lacked a proper stage or orchestra pit. The show overcame financial straits and a poor location to become “the first all-black musical to enjoy a long run and be treated as more than an oddity.”

The song and the show Shuffle Along broke racial taboos. During the early 20th century African-Americans were excluded from most mainstream theater in the United States: white Vaudeville refused to book more than one African-American act on a bill and for over a decade no Broadway show used African-American performers at all.

Another fun fact, in 1948 Harry S. Truman selected it as his campaign song for the United States presidential election that year.

How cool is that? The magic of what you discover when you follow your curiosity.

For those of you wondering what the heck I’m talking about, here’s Judy Garland singing it…

What’s a fun fact you’ve discovered about your name?

OK, that’s all for today.

(insert catchy sign-off here that I haven’t come up with yet)

🙏🏼 With gratitude,

Harry 🎧