An out of state traveler was walking along the side of the road hitchhiking on a dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by. It was raining so hard he could barley see his hand in front of his face.
Suddenly he saw a car approaching, moving slowly and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.
Wanting a ride very badly, the guy jumped into the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel, and no sound of the engine to be heard over the rain.
Again the car crept slowly forward and guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and beg for his life. He was certain the ghost car would go off the road and into the river, and he would surely drown! But just before the curve, a shadowy figure appeared at the driver's window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the Hitchhiker was alone again.
Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally the guy, frightened nearly to death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran through the storm to the nearby town.
Wet and in shock, he went into a lighted tavern and with voice quavering, ordered two shots of whiskey, and then, shaken, he told everybody about his supernatural experience.
A silence came over those listening and everybody got goose bumps. They realized the guy was sober and was telling the truth. And the sounds of the storm continued outside.
About half an hour later, two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other, 'Look Billy Bob, there's that idiot that rode in our car while we was pushin' it in the rain.'
Who is the idiot here?
Today is a lazy Monday blogging day, but trusty Doug comes to the rescue.
Once upon a time, I played a fairly decent version of "On the Banks of the Ohio" on my mountain dulcimer, which is pictured below.
Isn't it a beauty? It was handcrafted by Lynn McSpadden, from Mountain View, Arkansas, in 1975. The McSpadden family still operates The Dulcimer Shoppe.
My grandparents lived outside of Mt. View from 1981 until their home was destroyed in a fire in late 1995. I have passed that shop many, many times---and I still miss sitting on my grandparent's mountain and watching the White River in the distance. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat looks a lot like my own mountain dulcimer. Bought it off a guy in Stone Mountain Georgia. He has a shop there. Makes dulcimers, harps... stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteGreat joke, btw.
Doxy, it's a small world. We took several family vacations in the mountains of Arkansas when our children were young. They have great state parks with very nice and reasonably priced cabins. We always enjoyed the musical performances arranged by the park services. That's how I came to buy the dulcimer. It seemed that it would be fairly easy to learn to play. We didn't have much money, then, and the dulcimer was pretty pricey, but we bought it anyway.
ReplyDeleteLindy, the McSpaddens make other instruments, too. Their shop is a fascinating place.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Mt. View around that time on family vacations too. It was quite an education for this city girl from LA. We went to the Ozark Folk Center. We heard Johnny Horton perform "the Battle of New Orleans", ate catfish, learned to clog dance, listened to the dulcimer, bought quilts. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteBad joke, made me laugh as I sit here, up way too early, suffering from jet lag.
Sara, we went to the OFC, too, and heard Johnny Horton. I still have the LP record that we bought. Wasn't it a great place? My son got on the stage and did a jig dance when they called people up. He was 10 maybe. It was educational for all of us.
ReplyDeleteI feel sad - all my travels and never been to Arkansas. I have wanted to go too!
ReplyDeleteLoved that story!
The story is awesome. During lunch hour I read it at work. A good chuckle in the middle of the day is a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, and wonderful picture of your dulcimer. Do you give it a pluck now and again?
ReplyDelete(Please observe the obvious pun if answering in the negative.) ;-)
Tobias, I gave the instrument a pluck just before writing to avoid the negative response and the obvious pun, however, the truth is that I've lost whatever touch I had. My favorite of the simple folk tunes that I could play was "Wildwood Flower". Sometimes I even sang along.
ReplyDeleteNot many of my family and friends were taken with the sound of the dulcimer. I think the drone strings threw them off. Then again, it could have been that my playing did not do the instrument justice.
I've always been drawn to the musical forms that made use of a drone -- Celtic, American Folk, Indian Ragas -- there's something about that underlying pitch pulling the tonality together that I find oddly transcendent, crossing over cultural differences. As with Wyeth's art, I don't think "sweet singing" is what it's all about, and the rough edges in folk music are part of its charm.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, perhaps we'll have to have a jam session some time!
Tobias, exactly. There's a plaintiveness about the sound that I find quite appealing.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have a jam session, but don't expect Mother Maybelle.
I've been to that shop, and they are great folk. That is definitely a beautiful dulcimer. My Great-Grandfather on my Step-Mom's side made fiddles many moons ago. He even made one out of cedar for her and Dad as a wedding present. Nothing sounds sweeter than a handcrafted instrument.
ReplyDeleteHillbilly, I believe that the fretboard, the back soundboard, and the sideboards are made of walnut, but I can't remember what the front soundboard is made of, except that when the dulcimer was new, it was very light in color, almost white. Over the years, as the wood aged, more color came out. I think it has a lovely tone.
ReplyDeleteMimi,
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that it's probably sitka spruce. It's very sturdy, yet light, and ages to a really pretty reddish yellow after a bit. I was working on a guitar made from that wood combination, but alas, work, school and baby all pushed it to the wayside and I finally had to give up before she was finished. The only one I ever completed was a mahogany bohemouth of a guitar that sounds great but is a bear to play. I imagine yours sounds as beautiful as she looks. Maybe one of these days we'll get to hear her sing for us?
Hillbilly, I looked a pictures of sitka spruce, and that is probably the wood used on the front. You can't see it in the picture, but the grain is beautiful.
ReplyDelete