I met T&C at the Ash Grove in LA at a Lightnin' Hopkins show. We both had bad tables and raced as people left at intermission for a better table, arriving at the same one at the same time. It was big enough for all of us, their party of 4 and our party of 3, so we shared it. Talking, we learned we all were amateur folksingers, so we exchanged phone numbers and actually followed up. Within months, it seemed, we were good friends, and by the time I left LA for grad school in Oregon, we were spending practically every weekend together. We continued to have Thanksgivings together until we moved east after grad school.
So it was a long fine visit, last night and all morning today. They continue north on their trip to Vancouver BC. T uses a walker now but their spirits remain energetic.
I have no friends in Portland this close any more, having outlived them all.
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3 comments:
You saw Lightnin' Hopkins? Oh man!
Hey, Andy, I've seen Hopkins a dozen times. The Ash Grove was incredible. Hopkins, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Rev. Gary Davis, Booker Washington, all these old guys were in L.A. all the time in the 60s. Also, Lightnin' Hopkins came to my folk music class at UCLA, 2 hrs with 30 students, playing and answering questions in a classroom. THOSE WERE THE DAYS etc.
Good lord, I guess those were the days. 2 hours w/ LH? I thought the spy days were interesting but this takes the cake and runs to the other room with it.
I don't know what the baby boomers did along the karmic wheels of time to get so lucky, but it must have been good. Speechless...
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