Whew, I was just poking around through blogetics last night and found a reference to this locale by Jordan Davis, so I just want to take this opportunity to say thanks Jordan. And thanks are in order as well to Dan Tessitore, Eileen Tabios and Nick Piombino. If I'm missing anybody here, it isn't intentional. I try to look at all of your blogs on a daily basis if at all possible, and I'll attempt to keep things interesting around here. I'm hoping, by the way, to try the "pre tag" soon.

I kind of cut and run yesterday on "Euphues" due to time constraints and wanting to get something up, but the poem deserves more effort as far as I'm concerned. I woke up last night thinking of various issues realted to this poem. I'll see what I can put together in the next few days. Additional links should be forthcoming too.

Here follows an email message I received yesterday from my friend David Mahaffey. In consideration of Johnny Cash's considerable contributions beyond the music industry and the huge influence of the Carter family, I don't think it's too distant from thoughts and topics related to poetics:

Poor Johnny Cash. He's 72 years old, diabetic, suffering from autonomic neuropathy, a neuroligical disorder that makes him prone to pneumonia, among other things. He retired from touring in 1997, before I had the chance to see him perform. Imagine, then, my surprise when I learned that he would make an appearance on Saturday night at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, a mere two hour drive from my home. It was to be a memorial for June Carter Cash, for her birthday.

I was warned that I needed to arrive early. Armed with two books, I joined the ticket line at noon. The "box office (a barn door) would not open until 2pm, and the show wouldn't start until 7:30. A dozen people waited ahead of me, and as the afternoon wore on, dozens more joined the camp. It would be a day of waiting, and as anticipation grew, the chatter of the crowd became louder. This is one of the few circumstances when I become sociable myself, so I enjoyed meeting several people. Some of the later comers didn't even know Johnny was performing. Carter Fold has an old-time show every Saturday night, and a few people were just there to get their usual $5 tickets.

The Carter family (yes THE Carter family, or rather, their children and grandchildren) and their friends prepare food for the concession stand every weekend. Once I had claimed my front row seat, I sampled ham biscuits potato salad, and a chicken salad sandwich. The Fold is like a museum, with the ghosts of the Carter Family staring out of murals and picture frames in every corner. It is hallowed ground.

He came in through the main entrance instead of a back door, through the same door that I'd walked through hours before. He was walking, but leaning heavily on two other people, and had to sit down literally every ten steps to catch his breath. It took him ten minutes to walk from the door to the stage, throughout which he got a standing ovation. When he finally sat down (he can't stand on his own for long because he has no feeling in his feet due to the diabetes and not much feeling down his right side), somebody put a guitar in his hands.

Apparently, his life force resides inside that guitar. Though he can't see too well anymore (also thanks to the diabetes), and he has trouble breathing, there's nothing much wrong with his voice. He played a good short set and was escorted off the stage and back home. The crowd was great, though a little creepy. They kept taking photos of him while he was resting between steps toward the stage, and really swarmed around him, wouldn't give him room to maneuver.

After Cash left, the dance floor was cleared and the original Red Clay Ramblers (out of Chapel Hill, NC) came onstage. There are some good dancers in Hiltons, Virginia, and they were all having a grand time. A crowd of Tennessee Governer's School students joined the dancers, trying to learn steps as they went and simply hopping up and down in the meantime. Their most gracious fellow dancers taught them the basics between songs, and as the evening ended, the crowd danced its way into the parking lot.

David