In my last post I left my story just at the time after the Americana Convention in Nashville.
After Rebecca was safely at the airport, I had a little free time before my house concert so I went over to see
the master of Rhinestones and Cowboy Culture “Manuel” over at his shop on Broadway. I first met Manuel and his family a few years back when I did a little TV interview with him for my show on VCAM TV. Since then we have stayed in touch
through the mail and every now and then with another visit. Even though his shop is filled with sparkly garments ,it is also like a meeting place for musicians, with almost kind of like an old country store atmosphere ,where people not only can look and shop but can also gather and talk.I had seen Manuel at the Awards ceremony so I thought it would be a good time to drop in say hello and give him a jar of our home-grown honey. I always bring a few bottles of our own brand of “Marianna’s raw Vermont Honey” to share with friends and as Manuel just loves honey he is one of those who is on my list.
When I arrived , Manuel was sitting in his office chair answering the phone. In between answering questions and giving out his pearls of wisdom in his friendly and courteous manner we had time to catch up on the news.
At the moment he was involved in housing some 130 victims of the latest hurricane that swept through Louisiana and Mississippi . When I asked him if they were friends of his, he said no, but he heard that there was a group of people who were homeless and needed some help, so I am doing what I can. I guess I should not have been surprised as the stories of his generosity and charm are almost as large as his native Mexico, but housing 130 people seemed like quite a task, but there he was doing what he could in his own way to help out. After exchanging a few tales from the road and a few laughs ,I left his shop to walk around downtown Nashville and gather my thoughts.

While I was sitting in my truck drinking some coffee , a ragged looking fellow came up to me and asked if I had any extra change for food. When I handed him just thirty cents he said ” 30 cents, I can’t even get coffee with that!” I told him , “Well It’s a start, you can work up to it ” Then I said ” So how you doing ?”"He looked at me with a puzzled glare and said “What?” I repeated , “How are you doing?, do you have a story ?, tell me about your life.” He smiled and finally relaxed when he could see that I truly was interested in his life. Then he told me”I grew up in Mississippi and worked there for years. But after I lost my job and most of family disappeared I decided to drive out here. Oh, that was my big mistake. You see, my driver license had expired and when I went into a gas station some cop just decide to check me out. When he saw that expired license he arrested me and took me to jail. While I sat in jail , my car was impounded and soon the storage bill was so high I that by the time I left jail, lost my car. Since then I have just been living on the street asking for spare change. So I asked him “well what do you really want ?” He told me , that all he wanted was a car a job and to go back home.Well I told him “This might sound silly, but the next time you are getting lost in your troubles, instead of thinking about how bad things are, try to picture yourself driving in a new car, through the parking lot of your new job in Mississippi! ” I told him that our minds are very powerful and sometimes can actually help us get what we want if we concentrate on good positive images. I told him how I have used creative visualization in the past and it has helped me find a way to reach some of my goals. He looked at me and laughed “Well I guess it couldn’t hurt” he said. Well I guess I better get going, “Wait !” I said,Then I handed him a dollar bill and said “You see that cup of coffee you were just dreaming of, well here it is !” He looked at me with a big smile and said Thank you, Thank you, then walked in to the shop to get his coffee After he got his coffee and waved , I pulled my truck down the road.

Tonight’s show was on my mind so I could not really relax . I needed a place where I could focus. I ended up finding a quiet little church yard to sit in my camper and work out which songs I was planning to sing . Tonight’s show was a little different as it was a little house concert called Highway 101, and was put on by one of the biggest fans of the old Ryman Auditorium .
I had met Glen on my last trip to Nashville and after a few phone calls and letters he invited me to be one of the guests for “String Bean Night” No not the vegetable, but the old banjo picker and droopy pants, comedian from the He Haw show and Bill Monroe’s first banjo player. Old “String” has been dead and gone for many years, but in the spirit of Glen’s club they were going to honor him with his music and also in stories told by some of his old friends. To prepare for this night, Glen sent me a tape of “String Bean’s” music. I learned about a half a dozen songs ,knowing that I would not be able to use all of them but
I wanted to have a more than I needed , just in case.
When I got to Glens house, in a town just outside of Nashville , I was amazed at the amount of Memorabilia Glen had amassed over the years. There were photos, posters, a whole room of recordings, guitars, banjos , an old mic stand and even a bench from the old Ryman, it was a country music’s fan dreamland.
As Glen poured me a beer we went over the out line for the nights show. First Glen would do a little BIO of String Beans life, then show a video. Next I would play a couple of his songs, followed by one of String Beans old pals telling some personal stories of what he was like in real life. Next there would be another video followed by more stories and then I would with a few more of his songs. After a short break then I would have time to sing some of my own songs.

As the party started, people walked in armed with food to share and slowly started taking their seats ready for the program to begin. What I soon learned is that most of the people in the room were almost as big fans of The Grand Old Opry as Glen was, and many had been involved with the “Opry” over the years. When I was introduced to one old gentleman I found out that he was the grandson of Uncle Dave Macon , The Dixie Dewdrop, and one of the Opry’s first stars and one of my all time heroes. In fact everyone there was very interesting and I knew that I was in for a great time.
I was right! It was in fact one of the highlights of my trip.

After all the stories and music of String Beans life and sadly his death were through, I was able to get everyone singing with some of my own songs and entertained them with a few stories from my book. After over an hour of banjo playing and guitar songs I ended the night with some songs about the current Iraq war. I knew that it was important for me to let them know that even though I was opposed to the war I supported the troops. I said one of the biggest mistakes that we made during the Vietnam protests was that we had not supported the men and women who were fighting the war. Then I sang them my song “Monroe” a song I wrote about a down and out Vietnam Vet. I then followed that with a new song I wrote called “Rose For Peace”.

I ended my show with this thought, “While many of our politicians are trying to divide us and keep us apart in groups of Red and Blue states , I want to make everyone purple! Yes we have to realize that we “American’s ” have many more things in common then our differences that dived us. The only way we can get our country back together , is if we can find common ground and talk to one another. While it’s true, we might not agree with every issue . But by talking face to face, we can try to learn from each other.

“Plant A Rose For Peace Today, and peace will come tomorrow.
Hope and pray for better days, without war or sorrow.
Work each day in your own way, return the love you borrow
we;all Plant a seed of hope and dreams , the road to peace will follow”

After the fun party I returned to spend one last night in Nashville, then after saying good bye to Bruce, Patricia
Forest and dog Phoebe, I open the door to my truck, “Arnika ” jumped in and we rode of down the highway bound for Mountain view Arkansas.

To Be Continued……

See You Around The Campfire

Totem Pole Rik

Posted by Rik in General