There's a new show called Nashville. I doubt I'll ever watch it. Having spent a fair bit of time there, I'll stay content with the real thing. I always preferred Memphis, anyway.
From 2002 - 2004, I spent a lot of time in Tennessee, most of it in the small town of Linden. Most of you have probably never heard of Linden, and there's really no reason you should have. It's a nice little town with a population of about 1000 or so. It's the county seat of Perry County. I remember when they put in that second traffic light!
What makes a town like Linden special and memorable is the people. Sure, it's beautiful country down there. If you like the outdoors and country living, its the kind of place you'll love. For me, it will always be about the people.
One of my very good friends, a term I don't use lightly, lives there. His name is Billy Poore. If you're a fan of rockabilly music, then his name is probably known to you. In his 68+ years, he's been a dancer on the old Milt Grant show, a recording artist/performer (The Trend-Els, as well as solo stuff), a songwriter, music publisher, and more. He wrote, edited, and published a great zine called Rockabilly Review and ultimately wrote a great book on the subject titled "Rockabilly - A 40 Year Journey"(available through Hal Leonard Publishing).
That Billy ended up in Linden isn't unusual. He came from Maryland and landed in Nashville. It's where the music was. After some time there, he and his wife and daughter settled in Linden. Here's where the story begins.
I was playing at a festival in Jackson, TN and Billy was also there. Also there was his daughter and her best friend. Her best friend caught my eye and one thing led to another and we started a long-distance relationship. This led me to spending 2 years driving back and forth from Pittsburgh to the middle of Tennessee. The things we do for love, eh?
Linden was like another world for me. I thought the town I grew up in (Steubenville, OH) was small! We had 40,000 people there when I was a kid. (far, far less now) Since leaving high school, I'd spent time in a lot of large cities, Columbus, Cleveland, NYC & Pittsburgh (as well as a few small towns like New Philadelphia and Kent). I'd traveled all over the country, and had started travelling overseas. This little Tennessee one-light town was, at least to me, a trip!
At first glance, there wasn't much going on there. To call it "quiet" would be an understatement. But to the trained eye, there was always something going on. The people in the community could've been characters from a TV show or movie. It was like Mayberry but a bit more odd.
The long arm of the law was essentially one man. A sheriff who went by the nickname of Beer Belly (Beer, for short). If that wasn't enough, he answered to the local judge...Judge Pee Wee! I kid you not! Pee Wee was the kind of guy who got away with drinking by having a police escort.
Linden is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone...and everyone else's business. To a privacy-minded northerner, this took some getting used to. Within hours, everyone knew I was "Miss Terri's fella from up north". That pretty much became my name. At the time, I don't believe there was a bar in town. Tennessee has some crazy liquor laws. Linden had the next best thing. A gas station that sold beer. And had tables set up in it for the locals to enjoy a couple of cold ones while discussing the weather, fishing, politics or that northerner courtin' a local gal.
Shopping in the area was a hoot. There weren't many stores to choose from. For groceries, you could either go way out to the Piggly Wiggly (which closed down) or the Food King in town. There was also another little market I remember...but more about that later.
There was a video store, a diner (The B&H), 2 sit down restaurants (The Rusty Hook specialized in sea food...catfish), a dollar store and my personal favorite - Crazy Fay's! If you wanted Confederate memorabilia (and really, who doesn't?) Crazy Fay's was the place for you! Need a bust of Elvis? Fay had it. Need a Confederate soldier lamp? Fay had that too! Need a black velvet Elvis with a Confederate flag draped over his shoulder? I'm pretty sure Fay had that too!
Not everyone in town was a character. Most were just normal, everyday people...of the more rural variety. You really couldn't ask for nicer people. Everyone was always exceptionally friendly there. I made some good friends there and I'm proud to say that we're still friends.
I was always surprised that I never made the front page of the local paper. It was a small, weekly publication called the Buffalo River Review. It was usually maybe 10 pages...all the news fit to print...and then some! My favorite section was the local goings on. It would usually be a number of pages dedicated to local events, visitations and gossip. There would be blurbs like "Ella Mae Sudbauer was visited by her sister Mildred from Murfreesboro this weekend" or "The Nelson twins, Gavin & Bubba, took 1st place in last Saturday's mud bog". It was quaint but always struck me as very "Mayberry". I loved reading the paper over and over and over! We kept a stack of them in the bathroom for just such a purpose. (And yes...indoor plumbing!) Each page was filled with amazingly normal/average characters...each given their moment in the sun that is being mentioned in the local paper.
My all-time favorite local character, though, was an old guy who was fixated on Elvis. I mean this guy had Elvis-itis BAD! He dressed like a normal old guy...except for his jet black Elvis wig and Elvis sunglasses. I remember well the first time I saw him. I was making my 2nd trip to visit my ladyfriend and had some friends from Cardiff, Wales with me. I'm glad because they too witnessed His Elvisness! We had stopped in a little market on the outskirts of town, looking for some toiletries. Had I known at the time that Fred's Pharmacy was where one goes for such things in the greater Linden area, I never would've stopped there...nor would I have run into this guy.
My friend 2Tone and I were making our way around the store (his missus opted to wait in the car) when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted The King. At least I thought it was The King! I stopped in my tracks, did a double take, and made sure I saw what I thought I saw. He was a guy of around 75 or so, wearing an old blue dress shirt, polyester pants, and his Elvis wig and shades. I got my friend's attention and asked if he was seeing what I was seeing. We were both gobsmacked. He ran out to the car to get his wife, who is a huge Elvis fan. We really couldn't believe what we were seeing. None of the other customers in the store, nor the employees for that matter, seemed to be phased by The King doing his shopping.
When we got to my ladyfriend's house, I immediately brought up seeing Elvis at the store. She laughed it off, saying "That's just Mr. So & So. He always dresses like that." She said this as if he was simply wearing a pair of overalls! Dude was wearing a (poorly fitting) Elvis wig and Elvis shades! It was nothing to her. Over the next 2 years, seeing The King around town became pretty much of a non-event for me too...but that first time was a trip!
I learned a number of things in my time spent in Linden. I learned that catfish ain't too bad, provided it's deep fried in beer batter and served with hot sauce. I learned that I really like jet skis...but am a dangerous man on them. I learned that Tennesseans love football...and love it when their teams beats the Steelers (admittedly, a rare moment). I learned that if you want to keep flies out of your store, house, trailer, etc., tie a clear plastic bag filled with water in front of the door. (it seems to work!)
But most of all, I learned that people are people, wherever you go. Most are good people who are just as curious about strangers as strangers are about them. They work hard, enjoy their leisure, worship in their own ways, and live a life not much different than yours or mine.
If in your travels you should stop in some small, out of the way town that looks like the middle of nowhere, don't look down your nose. The town is probably far more interesting than your limited time there will allow you to see. Every town has it's treasures and it's secrets. Every town is made up of people: a community. These people are always interesting...provided you take the time to find out who they really are.
And lots of people everywhere still love Elvis.
From 2002 - 2004, I spent a lot of time in Tennessee, most of it in the small town of Linden. Most of you have probably never heard of Linden, and there's really no reason you should have. It's a nice little town with a population of about 1000 or so. It's the county seat of Perry County. I remember when they put in that second traffic light!
What makes a town like Linden special and memorable is the people. Sure, it's beautiful country down there. If you like the outdoors and country living, its the kind of place you'll love. For me, it will always be about the people.
One of my very good friends, a term I don't use lightly, lives there. His name is Billy Poore. If you're a fan of rockabilly music, then his name is probably known to you. In his 68+ years, he's been a dancer on the old Milt Grant show, a recording artist/performer (The Trend-Els, as well as solo stuff), a songwriter, music publisher, and more. He wrote, edited, and published a great zine called Rockabilly Review and ultimately wrote a great book on the subject titled "Rockabilly - A 40 Year Journey"(available through Hal Leonard Publishing).
That Billy ended up in Linden isn't unusual. He came from Maryland and landed in Nashville. It's where the music was. After some time there, he and his wife and daughter settled in Linden. Here's where the story begins.
I was playing at a festival in Jackson, TN and Billy was also there. Also there was his daughter and her best friend. Her best friend caught my eye and one thing led to another and we started a long-distance relationship. This led me to spending 2 years driving back and forth from Pittsburgh to the middle of Tennessee. The things we do for love, eh?
Linden was like another world for me. I thought the town I grew up in (Steubenville, OH) was small! We had 40,000 people there when I was a kid. (far, far less now) Since leaving high school, I'd spent time in a lot of large cities, Columbus, Cleveland, NYC & Pittsburgh (as well as a few small towns like New Philadelphia and Kent). I'd traveled all over the country, and had started travelling overseas. This little Tennessee one-light town was, at least to me, a trip!
At first glance, there wasn't much going on there. To call it "quiet" would be an understatement. But to the trained eye, there was always something going on. The people in the community could've been characters from a TV show or movie. It was like Mayberry but a bit more odd.
The long arm of the law was essentially one man. A sheriff who went by the nickname of Beer Belly (Beer, for short). If that wasn't enough, he answered to the local judge...Judge Pee Wee! I kid you not! Pee Wee was the kind of guy who got away with drinking by having a police escort.
Linden is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone...and everyone else's business. To a privacy-minded northerner, this took some getting used to. Within hours, everyone knew I was "Miss Terri's fella from up north". That pretty much became my name. At the time, I don't believe there was a bar in town. Tennessee has some crazy liquor laws. Linden had the next best thing. A gas station that sold beer. And had tables set up in it for the locals to enjoy a couple of cold ones while discussing the weather, fishing, politics or that northerner courtin' a local gal.
Shopping in the area was a hoot. There weren't many stores to choose from. For groceries, you could either go way out to the Piggly Wiggly (which closed down) or the Food King in town. There was also another little market I remember...but more about that later.
There was a video store, a diner (The B&H), 2 sit down restaurants (The Rusty Hook specialized in sea food...catfish), a dollar store and my personal favorite - Crazy Fay's! If you wanted Confederate memorabilia (and really, who doesn't?) Crazy Fay's was the place for you! Need a bust of Elvis? Fay had it. Need a Confederate soldier lamp? Fay had that too! Need a black velvet Elvis with a Confederate flag draped over his shoulder? I'm pretty sure Fay had that too!
Not everyone in town was a character. Most were just normal, everyday people...of the more rural variety. You really couldn't ask for nicer people. Everyone was always exceptionally friendly there. I made some good friends there and I'm proud to say that we're still friends.
I was always surprised that I never made the front page of the local paper. It was a small, weekly publication called the Buffalo River Review. It was usually maybe 10 pages...all the news fit to print...and then some! My favorite section was the local goings on. It would usually be a number of pages dedicated to local events, visitations and gossip. There would be blurbs like "Ella Mae Sudbauer was visited by her sister Mildred from Murfreesboro this weekend" or "The Nelson twins, Gavin & Bubba, took 1st place in last Saturday's mud bog". It was quaint but always struck me as very "Mayberry". I loved reading the paper over and over and over! We kept a stack of them in the bathroom for just such a purpose. (And yes...indoor plumbing!) Each page was filled with amazingly normal/average characters...each given their moment in the sun that is being mentioned in the local paper.
My all-time favorite local character, though, was an old guy who was fixated on Elvis. I mean this guy had Elvis-itis BAD! He dressed like a normal old guy...except for his jet black Elvis wig and Elvis sunglasses. I remember well the first time I saw him. I was making my 2nd trip to visit my ladyfriend and had some friends from Cardiff, Wales with me. I'm glad because they too witnessed His Elvisness! We had stopped in a little market on the outskirts of town, looking for some toiletries. Had I known at the time that Fred's Pharmacy was where one goes for such things in the greater Linden area, I never would've stopped there...nor would I have run into this guy.
My friend 2Tone and I were making our way around the store (his missus opted to wait in the car) when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted The King. At least I thought it was The King! I stopped in my tracks, did a double take, and made sure I saw what I thought I saw. He was a guy of around 75 or so, wearing an old blue dress shirt, polyester pants, and his Elvis wig and shades. I got my friend's attention and asked if he was seeing what I was seeing. We were both gobsmacked. He ran out to the car to get his wife, who is a huge Elvis fan. We really couldn't believe what we were seeing. None of the other customers in the store, nor the employees for that matter, seemed to be phased by The King doing his shopping.
When we got to my ladyfriend's house, I immediately brought up seeing Elvis at the store. She laughed it off, saying "That's just Mr. So & So. He always dresses like that." She said this as if he was simply wearing a pair of overalls! Dude was wearing a (poorly fitting) Elvis wig and Elvis shades! It was nothing to her. Over the next 2 years, seeing The King around town became pretty much of a non-event for me too...but that first time was a trip!
I learned a number of things in my time spent in Linden. I learned that catfish ain't too bad, provided it's deep fried in beer batter and served with hot sauce. I learned that I really like jet skis...but am a dangerous man on them. I learned that Tennesseans love football...and love it when their teams beats the Steelers (admittedly, a rare moment). I learned that if you want to keep flies out of your store, house, trailer, etc., tie a clear plastic bag filled with water in front of the door. (it seems to work!)
But most of all, I learned that people are people, wherever you go. Most are good people who are just as curious about strangers as strangers are about them. They work hard, enjoy their leisure, worship in their own ways, and live a life not much different than yours or mine.
If in your travels you should stop in some small, out of the way town that looks like the middle of nowhere, don't look down your nose. The town is probably far more interesting than your limited time there will allow you to see. Every town has it's treasures and it's secrets. Every town is made up of people: a community. These people are always interesting...provided you take the time to find out who they really are.
And lots of people everywhere still love Elvis.
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