Yeah? Why'd ya go and do that? Too much fiber in your diet? Too much "grain farming"? Prairie dog overload? What?
Hiding in a dirt cave with a bad signal will do it every time.
Old Lawrence used to talk about the signal all the time. He lived to be 100 so he ought to have known back when he was alive and telling me all kinds of stories. He's still alive in that way. Quite the feller he was.
The first time I met him I was working on a house next door when I looked over and saw this little elf of a man up on a ladder. I knew he had to be 90 (close, 95) and my heart skipped a little bit. I went over and announced myself and asked i I could help and he told me to hold on and he would come right down.
I held the ladder as he did and when he got to the bottom he turned around and held out the gnarliest claw I had ever seen and said with those crystal blue eyes and sandy ancient voice "Hey there how are you Bryan? I'm Lawrence. That's my name and that's what I answer to."
He grabbed my hand with that arthritic and small but strong gripper and looked me right in the eye and said, I still got it boy", as he squeezed. He was delightful and had lived a storied life as I learned over the next few years. "I'll live to be 100 boy. You'll see. " And I did.
Lawrence helped me see a lot. But back to the signal. He was proud of his bird and squirrel and rabbit friends and the 1971 Ford LTD he bought new and rebuilt the engine in and his little garden where he grew among a few other things German Johnson tomatoes and yellow squash in the summer. Now here is where it gets interesting. He told me that every morning he goes out and checks his bird feeder and garden and if he has a squash ready to pick he will bring it in and put it in a special plate and bake it in the oven for 20 minutes and then eat it for breakfast and wait for "the signal." Anyhow he told me lots of stuff. If I told that story before I don't apologize. lol.
I loved that guy forever. Olden cats rule.
Played at an open mic with a few friends on the list. We accompanied a super chill feller and fine songwriter named Bruce Culp, so naturally my brain came up with The Bruce Culp Ability for our band. He seemed genuinely enthused and embraced the name...I mean blame.
Played at an open mic with a few friends on the list. We accompanied a super chill feller and fine songwriter named Bruce Culp, so naturally my brain came up with The Bruce Culp Ability for our band. He seemed genuinely enthused and embraced the name...I mean blame.
