US-UNS AND YOU-INS
The last night in West Virginia the Milawyers made a great steak dinner and we all sat around the family table and broke bread. There was the eldest son Rocky, daughter Blondie, and youngest Mr. P. Mrs. Milawyer said grace. Mr. Milawyer opened a good bottle of red and we had at it. Rocky had just told me the story of his narrow brush with death. Here it is as best I can recall:
"I was at a football game on Wheeling Island when this black kid came up to me and started messing with my pink NY Yankees hat. He was bigger than me and he wouldn't let up. Then all of the sudden an even bigger kid came up behind me and cuffed me in the head. I usually get along with black kids fine but these two had it in for me for some reason. The big one hit me again and I knew I would have to do something. I swung and caught him full force, right in the temple. His eyes kinda rolled back in his head and he went down in a heap."
Time stood still.
I'm going to leave Rocky here for a second and talk about the two kinds of people in this world- Usuns and youins. I just pulled into Little Rock after spending two nights in Nashville. On Valentine's day I met the president of Oh-Boy records a Mr. AL and made an appt. to meet again with him in the morning to get him to listen to my songs. That night I was to play a "writers night" at the Commodore Club. Sounds impressive eh? As everyone should know by now, nothing is as it seems. The Commodore was the sports bar lounge of the Nashville Holiday Inn. Being the low man on the totem pole I went on last. The crowd started about 50 strong and dwindled to four by the time I went on, one of which was the sound lady. OK. No biggie. I'm a pro. I played my two songs and dreamt of my meeting with the record exec. in the morning.
This is where the usuns and youins comes in. Usuns are the artists, struggling for years in obscurity, trying to keep the faith, stick by our guns, etc., etc. Youins are the powers that be that we periodically try to get to listen or look at our efforts. We roll over, show our bellys, and wait for that pat on the head or the kick in out the door. I grabbed my CD and went to 33 Music Sq. West- Oh- BOy records. Al was sitting in his tricked out vintage pickup talking on the phone. I was all smiles, until...
"I'm sorry." he said pausing on the phone. "My lawyer advises me not to listen to any of your stuff. I'm really sorry. This is an important call." I stood there like a deer in the headlights. Now I've been blown off by the best of them but this was a new one on me. I had no rejoiner. I shuffled back to my car and drove out of Nashville. Youins are too devious for me.
Now back to Rocky. When he realized just what he had done he bolted, followed by what he described as a black cloud. "Then I stopped and for some reason turned and ran right at the crowd. They parted like the red sea." The cops came ushered him away and after a night sleeping with a baseball bat and a shotgun next to him, everything quieted down and life continued. "For a while there I hated black people. But now it's cool. Me and the guy that was originally screwing with me are friends. I don't have any problem with anyone now." Should I have clocked Al? Should I have grovelled? How much do I have to swallow? What would you-ins do? Milawyer advises me to have another glass of wine. Tomorrow I hit Texas.
"I was at a football game on Wheeling Island when this black kid came up to me and started messing with my pink NY Yankees hat. He was bigger than me and he wouldn't let up. Then all of the sudden an even bigger kid came up behind me and cuffed me in the head. I usually get along with black kids fine but these two had it in for me for some reason. The big one hit me again and I knew I would have to do something. I swung and caught him full force, right in the temple. His eyes kinda rolled back in his head and he went down in a heap."
Time stood still.
I'm going to leave Rocky here for a second and talk about the two kinds of people in this world- Usuns and youins. I just pulled into Little Rock after spending two nights in Nashville. On Valentine's day I met the president of Oh-Boy records a Mr. AL and made an appt. to meet again with him in the morning to get him to listen to my songs. That night I was to play a "writers night" at the Commodore Club. Sounds impressive eh? As everyone should know by now, nothing is as it seems. The Commodore was the sports bar lounge of the Nashville Holiday Inn. Being the low man on the totem pole I went on last. The crowd started about 50 strong and dwindled to four by the time I went on, one of which was the sound lady. OK. No biggie. I'm a pro. I played my two songs and dreamt of my meeting with the record exec. in the morning.
This is where the usuns and youins comes in. Usuns are the artists, struggling for years in obscurity, trying to keep the faith, stick by our guns, etc., etc. Youins are the powers that be that we periodically try to get to listen or look at our efforts. We roll over, show our bellys, and wait for that pat on the head or the kick in out the door. I grabbed my CD and went to 33 Music Sq. West- Oh- BOy records. Al was sitting in his tricked out vintage pickup talking on the phone. I was all smiles, until...
"I'm sorry." he said pausing on the phone. "My lawyer advises me not to listen to any of your stuff. I'm really sorry. This is an important call." I stood there like a deer in the headlights. Now I've been blown off by the best of them but this was a new one on me. I had no rejoiner. I shuffled back to my car and drove out of Nashville. Youins are too devious for me.
Now back to Rocky. When he realized just what he had done he bolted, followed by what he described as a black cloud. "Then I stopped and for some reason turned and ran right at the crowd. They parted like the red sea." The cops came ushered him away and after a night sleeping with a baseball bat and a shotgun next to him, everything quieted down and life continued. "For a while there I hated black people. But now it's cool. Me and the guy that was originally screwing with me are friends. I don't have any problem with anyone now." Should I have clocked Al? Should I have grovelled? How much do I have to swallow? What would you-ins do? Milawyer advises me to have another glass of wine. Tomorrow I hit Texas.
posted by mike osterhout at 6:23 PM
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