Come On In And Make Yourself At Home.
I grew up dirt poor in the mountains of east Tennessee and South West Virginia, with more brothers and sisters running around than the law ought to allow. We grew up hard and fast, but we were happy and I wouldn't trade any of it for all the silver spoon upbringing in the world. We moved around a lot, mostly from back-hills farm to back hills-farm. My dad was always looking for the pot o gold under some other rainbow, and my mom always followed with us kids because she loved him so. But, like I said before, all in all, it was a good life.
One of those back-hills farms was just down the road a piece from Tennessee Ernie Ford, although in those days nobody knew who he was, or what a powerful voice he really had. They also tell me I'm related to Jesse James by way of the Howard family and there is more than a little Hatfield and McCoy in my blood as well. By the time I was fourteen I had delivered two babies, for the simple reason that there just wasn't anyone else around at the time to do the job. I had also thumbed to Florida and back again on my own, just because the road was there and I had inherited a strong dose of my dad's wanderlust. During those early years I bummed around all over the South and worked for both Roy Simpson's Rodeo and Barnum & Bailey's Ringling Brothers Circus for a spell or two each.
Time and a lot of miles passed by and I married a beautiful young woman and fathered a beautiful daughter. We settled down just outside of Washington, D.C. and after some classes at Kent State, I went to work for one of the largest landscaping and tree surgery outfits in the world. It was through my job that I met John Kennedy in 1954, and we became friends although I never saw him again after I left Falls Church, Virginia for Durham, N.C. in 1959. I met Arthur Godfrey through my job too. That was in 1953, and mostly we just talked about horses. I also met and worked for Jacqueline Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Gloria Vanderbilt, just to recall a few of the more recognizeable names. In North Carolina I started my own Tree and Landscape firm and bred and trained Arabian horses as a hobby. I also worked for a few more famous people including the award winning author Betty Smith, Senators Everett Dirksen & Jesse Helms and Governor Hodges of North Carolina.
When my daughter was grown, I retired home to Tennessee and my wife and I eventually called it quits, but we remain friends to this day, and I probably still trust her more than any other person on this earth. The drifting spirit took ahold of me again, and I played pool for a living for about six years. And although the wanderlust is still there and I usually head for Florida in the winter, mostly these days, I speculate a little bit in land, raise a few head of cattle and hang around Lost Valley Ranch here in Tennessee.
I've been trying to write songs for more years than I care to remember, and I finally decided to let the world in on my secret. I guess the next place I'll wander to will be Nashville, just to see if I can sell my songs to Willie and some of the other boys over there who lived a long, good life and understand what I'm trying to say.
For What It's Worth ~ My Memories of Old Days
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For What It's Worth ~ My Memories of Old Days
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