I’m sitting here in by big, comfortable, black leather poppa chair in my living room, and as you can probably tell, I like it here at home. That’s the main reason why my Lady Wonder Wench and I don’t take many traveling vacations. We like being home. Willie Nelson likes being on the road. Willie’s current road trip included a theater not too far away from here last night, so we grabbed a couple of seats because we both like his music. The theater was packed. Lots of the people had long beautiful hair, very fancy hats, and stylish boots. And there were quite a few women there too.
Willy is quite a sight. His theme song is a song he wrote called, On The Road Again. It goes, “On the road again…just can’t wait to get on the road again…the life I love is making music with my friends.”
Willie has been down a lot of roads in that big bus of his…and not all of them have been paved highways. He’s pushing 80 now, and he looks like leather. He came on that honestly. He was 7 when he started picking cotton in Texas. And he’s never forgotten how hard that was. And that gave him roots, humility…and a great, graceful, greatfulness for the people who love his music, buy his records and come to his concerts.
It seems to me an exceptional number of Willie’s people last night were in wheel chairs, or had to use crutches. But they didn’t want to stay home. They wanted to travel with Willie on his road again. It was a happy reminder that even though our politicians and television talking heads are telling us to be afraid, most of us aren’t buying it. It doesn’t matter how tough it is…wheel chairs…crutches…whatever it takes, those folks were climbing back up on Willie’s happy bus…because they like being happy. Sounds silly, but it’s really not…think about it.
Willie looks like both a cowboy and an Indian…a redneck and a hippie. A sheriff and an outlaw. He’s a complicated guy….A first class poet and a pot head punk. He’s a wise guy, and a very WISE man. And most people don’t realize what a really good musician he is. I noticed he has a new guitar now. He called his old one Trigger. He played it so long that he literally wore a hole in it where the pick hit. His house burned down once, and legend is that he ran into the flames to save that old guitar. And I wouldn’t put it past him.
He plays guitar like a classical musician sometimes…carefully …eyes closed…quietly. But all country guitarists are called pickers. And there are times when Willie pounds on that guitar like a picker supplying his own power for that big old bus, as it’s roaring down the road…while he and his buddies are waving at the cars going by, and singing their song…the one that goes…on the road again, like a band of gypsies and the best of friends…making the big old world turn our way…and our way is on the road again. Willy does things his own way.
He’s a Louie-Louie Generation guy, and a good example what happens when you follow the advice given to all of us, by Big Louie, his own bad self, the Chief Mustard Cutter of the Louie-Louie Generation. Louie always says, “We should learn from our lettuce. Laugh out loud. Laughing is good for you. And if people don’t laugh with you, you’re still a head.”
Dick’s Details Quiz. All answers are in the current podcast.
1- What does Big Louie say we must remember about the word “wife?”
2- What makes grownups yawn more than babies do ?
3- Why should Swedish guys stay away from horses?
Dick’s Details. They take your mind off your mind.
Willie Nelson reminds me of a grown up version of the kind of kid whose parents try to show up at parent- teacher meetings under an assumed name. He’s still got quite a twinkle in his wrinkle. I’ll bet when he was a kid, if his girlfriend told him he needed to be more romantic, he’d take that to mean he should go out and get two more girlfriends. That comes across in his music. One of his big hits was called “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before.” It was a good song. A it was about a couple of Louie-Louie Generation guys, lifting a glass of good wine, to some good memories, of good and bad women in their past. But when I played it on the air, the phones went nuts…members of the forces for good in the community freaked at the idea of two guys who had lots of girlfriends in their lives. IN…SENSITIVE they squeaked.
They must have missed a song Willie wrote that goes, “How’s your new love ? I hope he’s doing fine. I heard you told him, that you’ll love him till the end of time. Now that’s the same thing you told me…seems like just the other day. Ain’t it funny. How time slips away. He sings another song they missed too. It goes, “Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could have. And maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should have. If I made you feel second best, girl, I’m sorry I was blind. But you were always on my mind. You were always on my mind.
Willie’s real. He’s screwed up big time in his life. There’s another country singer by the name of Little Jimmy Dickens. Jimmy isn’t quite five feet tall. He says he’s Willlie Nelson after taxes. You’ve heard about Willie’s problems with the IRS, and drugs, and all kinds of stuff that outrages the members of the forces for good in the community. I don’t think he’s proud of those things, but he’s not apologizing either. He’s you and me. A good guy who treats people the way he wants to be treated, works hard, loves his work, and isn’t afraid of his dreams. He’s about getting knocked down hard, but always getting up to try again.
I know a lady like that. I put her story in the Personal Audio CD called Night Connections, and in the current podcast. I saw the story happen in a convenience store in Lima, Pennsylvania. I don’t know what happened to her. I hope she at least spent a little time with that guy. He’s a nice young guy. He’s younger than she is by a few years. But maybe that didn’t get in the way…because as Willie says…it’s funny, how time slips away. That story is from the Night Connections personal audio CD. If you like it, you can just download it from the Night Connections icon on the home page.
I’m glad the road took Willie’s big, happy bus around our way last night. It was good to get on board…and listen to him sing about loving and laughing, crying and losing…and about getting up…no matter what…and going back on the road again. With your best friend.
My Lady Wonder Wench is my best friend. She was sitting next to me…looking all lovely and soft…and happy…I almost lost her in an accident a few years ago. She’s still having some trouble getting around. But she made it to the theater with me. She has beautiful blue eyes. One of the songs Willie sang almost tore me up. It’s called “Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain.” It’s about a guy who’s hoping to meet his lady again…someday…“Way up yonder.”
The reason the song hit me like that is, the theater is right down the block from the hospital where they saved my lady’s life.
Willie is pushin 80?? Wow, time really does slip away. So glad you and LWW got to go see him.