Alpine Camp for Boys, Circa 1980.

I got a call from an old buddy of mine the other day. Jim and I were camp counselors at Alpine Camp for Boys in Mentone, Alabama in the Summer of 1980. Two of my friends from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Sewanee, Woody (with whom I played football) and Margaret, hooked me up with Alpine. When I got there, I wanted to teach/coach football, or some other team sport, but was assigned to teach non-competitive sports, a/k/a "Earth Games", where Jim had also been billeted. In honor of our unsolicited appointments, Jim took the moniker "Earth Lizard", and I appropriated "Earth Duck". Jim forwarded the picture at left. I'm in the middle; he's to the far left. I think we were teaching them how to sing "Swing low, sweet chariot", in the picture, but I'm not positive. E-Lizard and I had a blast. There were some loose guidelines on "Earth Games": we had a parachute that we'd all flap up and down, and there were a few more or less organized activities, but mostly we just led the kids in whatever silly game we could imagine. If a kid scraped his knee, we'd celebrate it by giving him a stick or a pine cone as an award. We'd be patient about most things, but didn't brook bullying... or whining. If a kid was moping about, Earth Lizard would give him a "woodgie", which consisted of an exaggerated pout.  Egregious behavior might rate "the pit". I'm not gonna explain that one. Maybe Jim will. I also remember lots of little things, like drinking Tab, and doing laundry at the "disco-teria" in Ft. Payne; as well as some bigger things, like being grateful to talk about Jesus to kids who wanted to hear about him, and  the spiritual growth that I had. It was a long time ago, but I don't think I've ever had a better Summer. Thanks, Jim, for bringing it back.

Almost Heaven, West Virginia?

We left Ohio and cut through West Virginia. About all I knew about West Virginia until very recently, was that Bobby Bowden coached at one of their universities before establishing his dynasty at Florida State, and that "Devil Anse" Hatfield, of the notorious Hatfield/McCoy imbroglio, and my ex-wife's husband were from there (no relation, as far as I know). My impression of the music scene, before I bothered to look into it, was that the following video was typical of the State:



Turns out I was wrong. We decided to stay overnight in West Virginia, because it is about half way between Lewiston, Michigan and home. We had a tough time getting a room. The place was pretty, and all, but we were perplexed. Turned out that the hotels were packed because the massive storm that bedeviled the East knocked out the power for about 120,000 West Virginians, and as many as could we trying to get away from the stifling heat. We talked to a few of the locals, and they were prayerful, pleasant and long-suffering, and I liked and admired them.

Musically? In addition to John Denver's ode to West Virginia, Country Roads (I was gonna put a link here, but blogspot changed the format on me, and I'm not sure how to do it. Anyway, YouTube's got it), there are a couple of amazing artists from The Mountain State: Country star Brad Paisley shouldn't be a huge surprise, but Bill Withers? Yep, R & B legend Bill Withers is from West Virginia.

Pure Michigan!

Michigan has an embarrassment of musical riches, from Motown to rock to jazz, Classical and new age (oddly, I didn't notice any Country music bigshots). Among the many musicians with Michigan roots: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Ted Nugent, Madonna, Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder, Cub Coda of Brownsville Station (Smokin' in the Boys' Room), Bob Seger, Al Green, Jack White of the White Stripes, , Aretha Franklin (well, she was born in Memphis, TN, but moved to Detroit when she was six), Smoky Robinson, Sony Bono, Alice Cooper, Eminem, and Bill Haley of Bill Haley and the Comets. 

Way to Go, Ohio.

We left the 'Vent Sunday morning heading North on I-75 through miles of flat land and places like Lima (Lima is real, apparently, though "Glee's" William McKinley High School exists only as so many pixels on my television screen), then up through Toledo near the Northwest corner of the state. On the way back, we took caught the Eastern part of the state, where they have coal, mountains, hardscrabble football, the Pro Football Hall of Fame (which we visited and which I'll post at some point), and Akron, home of two of my favorite 1980's musicians: Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo (Mothersbaugh later parlayed his New Wave fame into a gig as composer and performer of the theme music for Nickelodeon's "Rugrats").  Ohio, I'm told, also has college football, though Lady Di's Michigan connections forbid me from mentioning any of the particulars.

Conventional Wisdom.

A little break from the musical mystery tour (don't worry, I'll get back to it). My mom was an Episcopal nun. I've mentioned this before. She was born in Cincinnati, lived out West, then Florida, then in Cincinnati at the Convent of the Transfiguration as a Sister, then to various outposts owned by the Convent, then back to Cincinnati, where she died six years ago. As we traveled North, Tyler, Lady Di and I zigged a little off course, and stopped in Cincinnati to see the sisters . We worshiped, ate and visited with Sister Teresa and the crew. Later, we ate ice cream at Graeter's, a confectionery of note in the Cincinnati area, then headed to the cemetery to visit mom's grave. When we got there, the gates were closed and locked. The brave nun who escorted us was undetered. As is her habit, the sister was in full nun garb when she popped in to the abutting Baptist church to announce our presence. There, the plot thickened. As Sister met with surprised quasi-clergy, Ty and I scaled the fence (well, Tyler vaulted it. I sort of oozed over it), and paid our respects. While I'm not totally sure mom would've approved; I doubt she'd've been surprised (love you, mom). The next day, we were on the road again.

Kentucky.

I got people in Kentucky. Cousin Paula, I'm talking to you! My mom was also born just across the river in Cincinnati. In addition to Wildcat Basketball, the Bluegrass State has a deep musical tradition. Wynona Judd (and her mom and sister Ashley) are Kentuckians, and so were the Everly Brothers (who knew?). Ricky Skaggs, you might not be surprised to learn, is a Kentuckian; but so are alt-rockers Cage the Elephant. First, Ricky Skaggs: Cage the Elephant (warning: this one's got some salty language and is a bit, er, sick):

Tennessee.

We slipped in to Tennessee a couple of hours later. Tennessee's got tons of good music. The Allman Brothers hailed from the Volunteer State. Okay, everybody knows Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, but there aren't many folks more intimately associated with Tennessee than the King:

The Tarheel State.

Three hours after left from our South Carolina home, we hit North Carolina on the Northwestern border. Lots of good music from the Tarheel State. Here are a couple of the songs we listened to: North Carolina's "Carolina Chocolate Drops" played at Spoleto last year. I really love their sound and energy. Folk music legend Doc Watson (R.I.P. last month) was from North Carolina, and this next song provides an apt bridge for the next leg of our trip.

Incredible Journey

Did a couple thousand miles of traveling over the last week or so. We also sort of took a musical tour of the Southeast.

South Carolina's got some fine musicians. Here are a few we listened to on our way up North. You already knew that Hootie and the Blowfish are from the Palmetto State, right? But can't you see that the Marshall Tucker Band are, too? Another South Carolina group that didn't get the exposure that Hootie and Marshall Tucker Band got was Cravin' Melon. Not sure what other songs they had, but you've got to love a song dedicated to "the wine of the South": Sweet Tea.