Search For Robert Johnson (Part 1 of 5)

Gayle Dean Wardlow is the guy who found Robert Johnson's birth certificate in Greenwood, Mississippi.
   Wardlow grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. I knew him slightly as a teenager. We played softball in the summer at The Teenage Canteen in Meridian.
Below is a link to a good interview with Gayle Dean Wardlow.
http://www.bluesworld.com/Gayle

Schwartzwald The Black Forest In Washington D C 1972 Rock Creek Park

In the summer of 1972 I was in Washington D C and some friends of mine said I should go see The Black Forest. It was also called by the German name Schwartzwald.
    This was a stretch of woods that ran from P St. along through the wood over to M Street near Georgetown. There was a path that ran along the ridge in the woods above Rock Creek Park.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Creek_Park
 My friends told me it was like a Fellini movie and they were right.
At nighttime to woods along the path was filled with gays hiding in the dark back in the bushes. Very little light illuminated the scene.  As you walked along the path men would come out of the woods and then disappear back in the woods. 
  This was a meeting place for D.C. gays at that time.
It was a pitch dark scene with occasional sounds of rustling coming from down in the woods.
   I walked the whole length of the forest and agreed that it was like a Frederico Fellini movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest

In Gay Old Mobile...Two Gay Encounters In Mobile Alabama

When I was driving a taxi in Mobile Alabama in 1964 I had what you might call two gay encounters. Actually they encountered me.

The first was in the basement men's room of the Battle House Hotel. This was considered one of the very best hotels in Mobile.
  There was a taxi stand outside and I had run in to use the bathroom to take a leak.
As I was coming out of the stall a short old black man who was the bathroom attendant asked me, "Do you want a blowjob?"  I told him no. I am not sure if he meant himself or if he was pimping for someone else.
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mobbr-the-battle-house-a-renaissance-hotel/

The second incident happened when I stopped at a restaurant out Springhill Avenue to go in and get something to eat.   As I was eating a young man kept staring at me.  Finally he got up and came over to my table and asked me if I wanted a blowjob. I told him no. He kept asking and was somewhat insistent.
  He said "Come on we can just go around the corner." I kept telling him no.
   I asked him what made him like he was. He said, "God made me this way".

When I was young I had several other experiences with gays following me. Once in Edinburgh Scotland in the summer of 1964. I walked all over the city and noticed a guy following me through the Princess Street Gardens.  Finally he gave up.

And again the same thing happened in New Orleans in the French Quarter. I was walking all over the French Quarter taking  photographs. Slowly I noticed a guy was following me at a distance.  I kept taking pictures and eventually he disappeared.

Real Angry Birds Very Mean Birds Very Angry Birds

We have some real aggresive mocking birds in our front yard that dont want anyone coming around. One of them sits on the roof of the house and surverys the scene for intruders.
There may be more than one pair and more than one nest.
I just went outside and was attacked by two mocking birds. One was on a wire above the sidewalk. The other came out of a bush. Most likely where their nest is.
I understand they are protecting their territory but they also seem to think our house and yard are theirs. And that we dont belong there.
 
We have had this before but they seem even more aggresive of defending their territory this time.
Swooping in and down on anyone who ventures out the front door. And even attacking when we are in the back yard.
 Every child in the South of the USA is taught it is bad luck to kill a mockingbird. Why is it? I dont know.
I looked that up on the web and the answer most given is that they are harmless and that is a sin to kill them. Some of that comes from the book To Kill A Mockingbird. The kids are told that the birds just sing pretty and make beautiful music so dont kill them. And they are told it ok to kill bluejays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird
Well I think it is wrong that mockingbirds are harmless. They attack humans who come near their nest.
  It is bad luck also to walk under a ladder, step on a crack in the sidewalk, put a hat on a bed, or break a mirror.
Flannery O'Connor pointed out that TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD is a children's book and that somebody should tell the people that that is what it is.
When the book was first released, Southern writer Flannery O'Connor commented, "I think for a child's book it does all right. It's interesting that all the folks that are buying it don't know they're reading a child's book. Somebody ought to say what it is."^[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_A_Mocking_Bird
  

   Sparrows do not attack. They just fly off to distract the visitor near their nest.
http://www.rovio.com/en/our-work/games/view/1/angry-birds

Elvis Presley - The Last Stop Hotel [Full DVD]

ELVIS What Happened?

If you really want to know what happened to Elvis read the book ELVIS WHAT HAPPENED?
It was written by his friends and bodyguards Red and Sonny West. You will get the true inside story.

http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-What-Happened-Steve-Dunleavy/dp/034530635X

Ernest Hemingway

Cuba Finca La Vigia home of Ernest Hemingway in San Francisco de Paula n...

The Finca Vigia Hemingway's Home In Cuba

Click on the photo to enlarge this picture of the living room in Hemingway's house in Cuba.
Click on the link below to read a history of the house and property.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finca_Vigia

Hemingway's boat PILAR is also at this location.
http://www.hemingwaycuba.com/finca-la-vigia.html

Let There Be Light (1946)

Click below for a clearer better restored version of Let There Be Light.
http://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/let-there-be-light-1946

Tennessee Williams - Secret Project

Tennessee Williams Interview with Bill Boggs Tennessee Williams Reads Hart Crane

Graceland Meditation Garden - Elvis Week 2009

Lots of Teddy Bears in and around Graceland.

Graceland 2009 Elvis Presley's Home..... Nice Visit

Elvis Presley - Live 1956, Tupelo's Own (Complete - 6 Tracks - 13 Minutes)

Elvis Presley May 25th 1955 Meridian Mississippi

This was taken at the dedication of the Jimmie Rodgers Memorial in Meridian Mississippi on May 25th 1955.

Elvis Presley Interview 1955 Jacksonville, FL

Elvis Presley 1956-09-26 Tupelo's Own Afternoon Show Full

Early Elvis Presley Shows In Mobile Alabama Area 1955

http://scottymoore.net/mobile.html

The link above mentions shows he did in 1955 in and around Mobile, Alabama.
The one at The Greater Gulf States Fair on October 26th 1955 was one that I went to but did not know who he was. I was only 15 years old and I was going with two friends to see the Fair.
I do remember it was a hillbilly show and Hank Snow was the supposed headliner. But word had gotten out and the kids cheered so much for Elvis that Hank Snow said he was not going on after Elvis. Hank Snow went on before Elvis.
   I remember walking by the stage not interested in country music. I didn't know about the Hillbilly Cat then.

Elvis On The Road 1955-1956.
http://www.pophistorydig.com/?p=22

Hurricane Frederic Archive News Video WKRG Mobile Alabama September 1979

http://www.southalabama.edu/cwrc/alahurricanes.html

HURRICANE FREDERIC...PICKING UP THE PIECES September 1979 Mobile Alabama

In 1979 Frederic was the worst hurricane to hit Mobile since 1926.
I lived in Mobile from 1955 to 1975 and never experienced any major hurricane.
Then later came Ivan(2004) and Katrina(2005) both of which hit Mobile hard.
http://www.hurricanecity.com/city/mobile.htm

WUSA (1970) 1/9

Link below is about WUSA.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066540/

More hard to find movies via the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCC0B03F31C227784&feature=plcp

This movie is based on the book HALL OF MIRRORS by Robert Stone. You can watch the whole thing by going to youtube and see all the others parts that are on there.
In part #1 you can see Jewel's Tavern starting at 11:30 and all the way until the end of part one. It also shows the inside and outside of Jewel's Tavern as it was in 1965 when we used to go there until 1970 when this movie was made.  The outside also appears for two or three seconds at the beginning of Part 2.
 Jewel's Tavern was a famous seaman's bar in the French Quarter

There are scenes in this movie filmed inside and outside of Jewel's Tavern which was on Decatur Street in New Orleans near the corner of Gov. Nicholls. It is now called Aunt Tiki's Jewels Bar.
Stone thought Hollywood made a terrible motion picture out of his book.
   I have other posts on this blog about WUSA and Robert Stone. Look over on the right hand side of the page for them.
Click on the Label below A Hall Of Mirrors to read more about this book and movie and where Robert Stone and his wife lived in the French Quarter in 1959.

That Cold Day in the Park (1969) 1/7

You can watch this whole movie by going to youtube. It is in seven parts. This is part one. Click on Youtube and you will find the other 6 parts.

I first saw this movie at a drive in movie theater in Mobile Alabama. It was on a double or triple feature. I had bought a six pack of beer and sat in the car not knowing what this movie was about.
I was quietly sitting in the car slowing drinking the beers when I got hit by this movie.

I was quickly drawn in and it seemed to get better and better. I am not going to give any of it away but to say I was freaked out would be putting it lightly.

Petey Greene - How to Eat Watermelon (Enhanced)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petey_Greene

"Block Party" by Chuck Brown feat. DJ Kool

Chuck Brown passed away yesterday. He created the Washington D.C. Go Go sound.   I have two other posts on this blog about Chuck Brown. I saw and heard him and his band at the Washington Plaza hotel in the early 1980's. His band was called Chuck Brown And The Soul Searchers. There is plenty more of Chuck Brown on Youtube.
  His band could play for 4 hours and never stop. They did not stop between songs. The drums and the band kept up the beat non stop for 4 hours. The audience would holler "Wind Me Up Chuck".
   

CHUCK BROWN & THE SOUL SEARCHERS, BUSTIN' LOOSE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Brown

Chuck Brown died yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/chuck-brown-dies-remembering-the-godfather-of-go-go-through-the-post-archives/2012/05/16/gIQAmefZUU_blog.html

Mucca Pazza at Eastern Market, Washington, DC

Mucca Pazza in DC May 6, 2012

Double click on the video to go to Youtube to watch full screen.You will also find parts 2 and 3 there.

Deadly Riots at Ol' Miss Integration At Ole Miss September 30,1962

HATTIESBURG ZOO

Hattiesburg Zoo Keeper - WDAM NEIGHBORHOODS

Hattiesburg Zoo Also Known As Kamper Park And The Riots In Oxford Mississippi When James Meredith Was Enrolled At Ole Miss in September of 1962

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattiesburg_Zoo

This is a nice little zoo in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. When I was in college at Mississippi Southern (changed in 1962 to The University of Southern Mississippi) I had friends who lived near this zoo.  We could hear the lions roar.

In September of 1962 when James Meredith was being forcefully enrolled at The University of Mississippi in Oxford, Ms.  all hell broke loose all over the state.
   People were coming from all over the state and nearby states to go to Oxford to fight the US marshalls and the US Army. Terrible riots broke out at Ole Miss and two people were killed.

Meanwhile in Hattiesburg the southern sympathizers gathered in Kamper Park to sign people up to go to Oxford and fight the US troops.
I went down to the park to observe this gathering. I saw locals dressed in Confederate uniforms waving shotguns and swords and recruiting people to go fight the Civil War all over again in Oxford.

After they had signed people up they all got in cars and convertibles and proceeded to parade around Hattiesburg and up and down Hardy street waving their swords and shotguns and rifles. Whether they actually did go to Oxford I do not go.

I went back to the University with my friends. One fellow from Connecticut had just gotten married and moved his Connecticut wife down to Hattiesburg. He said to me,"Joe are they going to kill all us Yankees first?" He asked me what they should do. I told him we would stay in our house and lock the door and shoot anybody who tried to come in and get us. Many of my friends and frat brothers were from the North.
  It was a weird and trying time. There was some talk that the agency that accredits Universities was going to with draw acrreditation from all Universities in the state of Miss. I never took this threat seriously though some did.
  In Oxford a student I knew from Greenwood tried to drive a bulldozer into the Lyceum as the rioting students attacked the US marshalls  during the worst of the riots.   The students were just barely beaten off by the marshalls allowing just enough time for the US Army to arrive and restore order.
I once picked up a hitchhiker in Mississippi shortly after this riot. He told me he had been in this riot and he NEVER wanted to be in a riot ever again.

Frostop Drive Inn Gone From Hattiesburg Mississippi But Not Forgotten

The pictures above are not of the Hattiesburg Frostop but they look just the same.
http://www.agilitynut.com/vessels/mugs.html

Below is a good link to old Hattiesburg memories.
http://www.myhattiesburg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44093&page=4

Hattiesburg Mississippi The California Sandwich Shop And What Has Happened to It

http://mississippilegends.com/articles/southbound-to-heaven

James Agee And Walker Evans LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN And AGEE His Life Remembered

http://www.amazon.com/Agee-Life-Remembered-Ross-Spears/dp/0030600790/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in

Link below to some of the photos by Walker Evans for the book LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/gallery.html

These pictures were taken in Alabama in 1936 by photographer Walker Evans. I recently read the book shown at the top of this post.
There are more pictures in that book by Walker Evans showing these poor people and how they lived at that time. Seeing these people wearing rags really hit hard.
I have read and re read LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN many times but by reading the book shown above I learned much more about James Agee.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Agee

Above is a photo of the first edition of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. First published in 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_Us_Now_Praise_Famous_Men

The first edition came out in 1941 and only sold 800 copies out of the 1500 printed. WW2 was coming on and very few people were interested in tenant farmers in Alabama.

The book was re-issued in 1960 and sold very well. Interest in the south was high because of the beginnings of the civil rights movement.
Below is what the 1960 re-issue looks like.

Flatt And Scruggs Its Hymn Time- Turn Your Radio On

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_blaster
See the posts below this one for more on Border Radio and the Border Blasters radio stations of the 1930s,1940s,and1950s.

1930s Mexican Border Radio Carter Family sings Motherless Children .. Border Radio.. Border Blasters

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01251/cah-01251.html

http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/brinkley.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4609913

The Carter Family on Border Radio

http://hearingvoices.com/news/2007/11/on-the-media/

http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html

1920s New Orleans Film Clips

New Orleans 1965

A little nostalgia for New Orleans of 1965.

La libération de Paris 60 ans après ( 1944 - 2004 )

We were at this parade in Paris in August 2004 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation.  We were almost the only Americans there. All the American soldiers in this parade were in reality French actors dressed like American soldiers.
We did meet two or three older French women who told us stories of the Nazi occupation in France.
  They also thanked us for the American soldiers who helped free them from the Nazis.