1978 VERSION OF THE BAND'S "THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN"

I've enjoyed so much music through the years, but tonight while shopping for dinner I heard this on the store players.

And what's funny is that I didn't immediately recognize it, that is until I recognized Stevie Nix's voice.

But perhaps my all-time favorite song is the 1978 version of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," with Levon Helm on vocals and drums.  Maybe it's his Arkansas accents that make him and that song unforgettable. 

      
I love it.  Here are its lyrics.

Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May 10th, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down when all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me,
Said "Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E Lee."
Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best.

The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

Like my father before me, I will work the land
And like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat.

The night they drove old Dixie down when all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, la, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

Songwriters: Robbie Robertson

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

SAN GABRIEL, CA, 1960

I took this shot back in 2012 at the end of my morning walk east on Las Tunas Drive.  I lived behind this building but it has greater memories for me than a landmark adjacent to my old residence.  My family grew up on Gladys Avenue one block west of this Shakey's.  My dad used to take my brothers and me miniature golfing at the old Aloha Miniature Golf on Las Tunas at Burton.  It's gone, of course, but not gone from memory.  What's regrettable is that the city never, ever, ever takes photos of former buildings to create an homage to its own history.  That's because the city government is not in any way interested in its past.  The government, for the most part, is bitterly protective of its past and will derail most efforts by John Q. Citizen to unearth any details, positive or otherwise.  Governments like it just fine that you forget about the city's history, its people, landmarks, and so forth.  But they will spend a fortune and erect a bronze statue to commemorate anew some Mexican rancher or indigent Indian, someone who has almost no connection to the modern world or civilization, as an homage to the forward-looking values (meaning socialist spending) of its socialist-minded supervisory board.  Across the street from Shakey's, meaning north across the street, was the old Goody's Restaurant where somebody in my family used to enjoy something.  No one talks, so no one knows.  I had breakfast here once with Norma Parker.  Such a wonderful, gracious companion. 

On September 13, 2018, I sent out an email to a few family members: 

Did any of you ever eat at Goody's in San Gabriel?  Enjoy a shake, a malt, a burger, anything?  Did Mom or Dad like the place?  The coffee?  The ambiance?  The service?  Or was the place built AFTER the Walgenbachs moved to Duarte?   

Do you recall the Aloha Miniature Golf Course down the way on Las Tunas Drive about where Burton intersects it?  

Dan replied

Yes, I did eat there with Pa and Lily most likely, as they were the ones that seemed to frequent it as I recall. I don't recall any item worth noting.  

I do remember going to the miniature golf course. It was a popular hangout.

I remember going to the Shamrock roller rink more than any place in San Gabriel.  And, maybe the San Gabriel and Temple City theaters, especially in the summer. 

The problem with Goody's or the miniature golf place was that both cost money of which we did not have an abundance to spend on such frivolous ventures. 

Shamrock Roller Rink was located one building south of Las Tunas on the east side of San Gabriel Blvd., the building directly behind O'Donnell Chevrolet. 

BLUEGRASS CLOG DANCING

When I taught English, someone at the school contracted local dance troupes representing different countries around the world—Romania, Guatemala, the Czech Republic, and so forth.  But we never had anyone from American Appalachian.  That was too bad because this is just terrific.  You have to love the respect that was extended to the families.  I guess I just needed a break from all of the Social Justice garbage.  In fact, what all of this Social Justice Warrior, MeToo, and BlackLivesMatter garbage will do is spur a renewed interest in the white Appalachian cultures.  People seem to be getting pretty sick and tired over honoring cultures on the other side of the planet.  Honor the cultures inside the North American states.  

You have to love the respect that was extended to 

"Let's do ol' John Hardy there." 

Reminder on how to set the embed code.  Click on "Share."  Then on "Embed."  Go to the end of the code where the question mark is and add "start=33&end=120" or whatever your parameters are.  See here for more.  

FRANK CONVERSE & NYPD

An actor whose stature, voice, and screen presence I liked a lot was the talented Frank Converse.  

His show NYPD was gritty and the discordant, sharp music was suspenseful. I liked the inner monologue of the characters as they entered existential conflicts and situations. As a kid, I liked that the characters revealed what they were thinking.  It certainly was not a standard trait of TV detectives, for sure, but being the main characters they often shared with the audience what they were thinking or how their calculations were being formed.  As a young actor, Converse had that New England New York college boy look.  At other times, he'd played a seasoned but beleaguered NYPD detective existentially remarking on the violent, desolate, and schizophrenic nature of the people of New York of the 70s.  I thought that he was an interesting guide on that scene for a kid watching a day unfold on the streets of New York.  Of course, he wasn't the only NY detective in those days.  There was Dennis Weaver (1924-2006) as McCloud.  Funny aside is that I saw Dennis Weaver on the 210 Freeway years after his show ended and he went into retirement.  He was driving in the eastbound lanes in a Nissan 240Z.  He was likable.   

A ESTE SOL PEREGRINO, TOMAS DE TORREJON Y VELASCO

More than any other song this past week that has uplifted my spirits it was this one that Robert Higgs posted on Facebook, who wrote on July 28, 2018, @ 1:36 pm

One of the good things—among many bad things—that came out of Spanish colonization of the New World.

I love the chorales, how one voice sustains, others pipe in, punctuating enduring ones, then rush headlong on their own riff, heavy, dominant.  I don’t know what I am talking about. 

CATRIN FINCH, CELTIC CONCERTO

I was up early to exercise, about 4:30 am, and as I sat in my parked car before stepping out I heard this piece. It was the energy and mysteries of the harp that struck me.  

MOM & DAD, 1940

This is 3 years before he'd enter the War and 3 years before Charlen was born.