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Deportee
Today would be Woody Guthrie's 97th birthday.
Woody was already too sick to perform when I started getting into folk music but his influence was everywhere. The simple, direct lyrics of his songs had a huge impact on the way people wrote and his tendency to put new words to old tunes liberated many gifted lyricists who couldn't quite come up with ( Read more... ) -
To Look For America
Driving up to New Harbor on the Fourth we saw signs as we approached Wiscasset advertising the parade and the chicken barbecue. We looked at our watches and saw it was nearly parade time and debated stopping to watch. Debate was cut short as we got to the main street and traffic was stopped for the parade. We rolled down the windows, turned off the ( Read more... ) -
Writer's Block: Childhood Firsts
Why? My generation questioned authority.
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Down on Copperline
When my father's parents came to this country they settled in a small town in New Hampshire. My father left but his parents stayed there. His brother stayed there and married a local girl. One of their daughters still lives there, as do her daughters and new grandson. In fact the daughter with the son lives in the house my aunt and uncle lived in ( Read more... ) -
They Wanted a Buzz But I Can Only Bellow.
Have I mentioned that I hate hype?
I'm better than I used to be. Back when I was a kid I got so sick and tired of people telling me that Huck Finn was the greatest American Novel that I got turned off of Sam Clemins for decades.
There's nothing like flogging something to death to turn me agin it.
Take football, for example. I don't enjoy football, I ( Read more... ) -
When I Can Tell At Sight a Mauser Rifle From a Javelin
A book I was reading last night quoted a 1967 Time magazine article as describing General William Westmoreland as "the paradigm of a military professional" which struck me as very close to being the very model of a modern major general. -
From the Pearls Before Swine Department
I was walking back to my car at MIT when I was accosted by a young man wearing a badly cut light brown suit with a dark purple shirt and a black tie.
"I beg your pardon," that peculiar sound of a Yorkshire accent trying to speak Oxbridge, "but can you direct me to the Faculty Club?"
"Certainly." I give directions. "While you're there do look in on ( Read more... ) -
Lucille Bogan
natevw sent me a cd of Lucille Bogan recordings (thanks Nate!). Although she only recorded from about 1923 to 1935 her work had a huge impact on other blues men and women. Unbelievably I had no recordings of her, even under her psuedonym of Bessie Jackson although I'd heard many recordings, especially Shave 'em Dry which she recorded with Josh White.
I'm ( Read more... ) -
It's Raining!
Hereabouts it's been raining steadily since about 1913.
There was a time when this did not bother me, I simply put on a waterproof layer and went about my business.
That was before I moved to the suburbs and had to drive everywhere. Many cars seem to have a device that is activated with the windshield wipers. This device injects extra levels of ( Read more... ) -
Thank God it was just reality
There is a young woman who works in this building who always dresses like it's 1969; jeans, boots, and what we used to call a peasant blouse. She has long, straight hair parted in the middle. Yesterday I saw her drive up in a VW microbus camper and thought I was having a flashback ( Read more... )