Archive | July, 2014

A Small Post While Preparing for an Upcoming Large Post

11 Jul

There is a huge post rambling around in my brain, but I am not prepared to write it. I am hoping that it will create discussion and want it to come out right. It is one of those posts that may offend, but it may also make people think. That is enough about what I am not going to write. Let us get on with what you are about to read, which is not much.

Yesterday, I wrote about Little Cedar Lick. Today, I found out that it may not have been where I thought it was. It could have been a community that is now known as Leeville. If that is the case, then John Coffee “Jack” Hays was just up the road.

A long time ago, I wrote about my search for a singer named Bobby Doyle and how I could not find much information on him. In recent weeks, I have been in contact with his family and friends, and they sent an article that has just been published about him. It is an interesting article about an interesting man. You need to read it.

John Seigenthaler passed away. For those who do not live in Nashville, that name may not mean much to you. In these parts, he was a journalistic pioneer. My Twitter feed has been filled up with remembrances of him.

Earlier, I tweeted that there are three songs that always make me smile. That does not mean they are happy songs. There is just something about them that I like. They are:

“Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest

“Badge” by Cream

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum

Without a doubt, Foghorn Leghorn is the greatest cartoon character of all time. A lot of people are in agreement with this. Dave, who I used to work with, loved the big rooster, and his son gifted a Foghorn Leghorn DVD collection to him for Christmas. Unfortunately for Dave, all of the DVD’s were in Japanese. Apparently, Foghorn is big in Tokyo, too.Foghorn Leghorn

I got tickets to see Drive-By Trickers at the Ryman Auditorium. I have been wanting to see them, and the concert being at the Mother Church is an added bonus.

That is all. Now, my mind is empty.

 

 

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The Man From Little Cedar Lick

10 Jul

I have been reading Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne. As you can tell by its title, historians like long titles, and it is about the Comanche.

It is a great book filled with information that I already knew and a lot of information that I had never read before. There are names of interesting people on both sides of the struggle between the Comanche and those encroaching on their territory. These are people who fought for what they thought was right and may have been well-known in their day. However, many of them have faded from history.

I am far from finished with the book, but one name has already stood out. John Coffee Hays is described as the greatest of all Texas Rangers. In fact, he is the one who taught the rest how to do their jobs. His exploits provide great reading, but a tidbit about his early life is what intrigued me.John Coffee Hays

Hays was born in Little Cedar Lick, Tennessee. When I read about his birthplace, a small memory crept to the front of my mind. Several years ago, I was speaking at Rotary about Tennesseans who became famous in the American West. I mentioned the obvious ones like Sam Houston and David Crockett. However, I also talked about John Chisum, Clay Allison and Peter Burnett.

When the presentation ended, a man in the back asked if I knew anything about the guy from Wilson County who became a Texas Ranger. At the time, I did not know anything about him, but this book may have made the introduction.

Like all great investigators, I did a Google search and discovered that John Coffee Hays was born in Wilson County. I also discovered that all of the sites that have information about Hays must have been copied from the same source. Almost all of them were word for word duplicates. The only differences were about his relationship with Andrew Jackson.

I read that his grandfather sold Jackson the land that would become the Hermitage. There was also the story of Jackson being John’s uncle. Also, his father fought with Jackson during the War of 1812. Oh yeah, another said that John spent many days at the Hermitage.

All of that may be true, but, around here, everyone wants to be connected to Jackson. If your ancestors lived in this area while Jackson was alive, then they were best friends. If your name is Jackson, then you are descended from him, which would be difficult since he did not have children.

I will have to ask my colleague, who has a great blog called Jacksonian America and who is one of the leading experts on Andrew Jackson.

Then, I remembered that I know someone named Hays. I sent a text to Nick Hays, who is running for County Trustee, and asked if he was related to John Coffee Hays. He replied that he was, but the family did not have much information on him. He learned most about him from Monty Pope. On the first day he walked into Monty’s class, he asked Nick if he knew about the Hays who became a Texas Ranger.

By the way, if you live in Wilson County be sure to vote for Nick.

As I read about Hays, I began to wonder about the place where he was born. I have lived here all of my life and have heard many stories about its history, but I have never heard of Little Cedar Lick. I thought about asking the folks at the Wilson County Archives, but I do not have much faith in them these days.

Instead, I went to good old Google. Man, that thing is as handy as a pocket on a shirt. All I found was Little Cedar Lick Church. With nothing else to go on, I drove to the location. It was on a road that I had never been on, and I had no idea what to expect. The picture in my mind was of a little country church.

Instead, I found this.image-3

I have no idea if this is the same area where John Coffee Hays was born. I only know that he was born in Wilson County and made his name as a Texas Ranger. Then, he moved to California and became the sheriff of San Francisco before being one of the founders of Oakland.

Throughout all of that, Hays may have looked back and remembered Little Cedar Lick, but I am afraid that place may have disappeared through the ages.

 

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Madam Millie and Me

8 Jul

This post is inspired by a recent post at Serendipity. Stop by there for a visit and stay awhile. You will be entertained and educated.

Before I started graduate school, I knew that I wanted my studies to focus on the American West. As I got further involved, the realization hit that the American West is a broad subject that needed to be whittled down. With a background in business, I became interested in the economic aspects of the West. I had grown up watching movies where cowboys rode alone across the Plains. It turns out that they were really working for huge corporations, and I found that totally fascinating.

With that in mind, I walked into my professors office and said that I wanted to research the cattle industry.

Nope. That had been done by many historians. I needed to pick something else.

The next choice was the mining industry.

Nope. That one has been covered.

What about the lumber industry?

That one was not going to work, either.

After several more rejections, I asked if he had something in mind. He did.

He suggested that I research the prostitution industry in the West.

It sounded good to me, and I agreed. After all, I had run out of ideas.

I researched, wrote and did all of the other things that aspiring historians are told to do. Fast forward a few years, and our story begins.

I got a call from George Harding, a local man who was quite the character. He loved being involved in politics and was most comfortable in the proverbial smoke-filled room. Most people do not realize the effect George had on our community because he mostly operated out of the public eye. He is the kind of man who would say anything and not care who heard him. A lot of people liked George, but a lot of other people did not.

I always liked him because he was full of good stories about people around town. One day, I got a call from him saying that he wanted to see me.

George had family in New Mexico, and they sent a book for him to read. That is one other reason I liked George. He loved to read about history. This book was called Madam Millie: Bordellos from Silver City to Ketchikan.Madam Millie

When he brought out the book and talked about reading it, I thought he was going to ask me what I knew about Millie. That is one of the problems with teaching history. People tend to think that if you are a historian, then you know everything. A wise man once told me that going far in graduate school means that you know more and more about less and less. I think that is an excellent description.

However, George was not there to ask questions. He said that he was reading through the book when he recognized a name. Opening to the page, he pointed to the spot where I was used as a source. Holy crap, I was deemed by someone to be such an expert in prostitution that they used me as a source in their book.

That was the first time I had ever seen my name in print and was pretty fired up about it. Immediately, I ordered the book, and, when it arrived, I took it to my parents.

I guess they were excited, but you could not tell it by the response.

“You have spent all of these years in school, and you are in a book with a picture of a naked woman on the cover.”

Yep, I had made it. I was an official historian of prostitution in the American West.

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Another Night in Old Nashville

7 Jul

Recent TMZ headlines have brought to mind a night from many years back that I spent with some friends. We were crazy about concerts and would always find a way to see our favorite people. Nashville had venues for the popular performers, but there were plenty of smaller places for those on the rise. One of those was called 328 Performance Hall.Performance Hall

It is not around anymore. In fact, I drove past it on the way back from our anniversary celebration and wondered what was going on in its space. Way back when, it was a slightly sketchy part of town with a strip club across the street. These days, new development is moving in, and the old buildings are probably not long for the world.

The interior was a stage in an old warehouse. There could have been a few seats, but I never found them. The deal was to get there early and find a standing spot in front of the stage.

That is exactly what we did to see Edwin McCain, a performer with a cult following who always seemed to be on the cusp of stardom. However, he never made it over the top to the big time. Edwin was one of the numerous examples of a great talent who fell short of great fame.

The place was packed. We were up against the stage. I have no recollection of the show put on by Edwin McCain. It has nothing to do with libations. It is purely one of those things that has slipped from my mind. However, I have not forgotten everything about that night.

First, my buddy got visibly uneasy when one of the women in our group felt the need to feel him up from behind. For most of my buddies that would have been an awesome experience. The problem for this friend is that his wife was standing in front of him.

Then, there was the opening act. This young girl came out with a big smile and a guitar. She sat on a stool directly in front of us and started to sing. There was no band. There was just her, the guitar and her high voice. She sang mostly slow songs about love and heartbreak and would have been perfect in a coffeehouse. Unfortunately, we were not in a coffeehouse and wanted something more rocking. She sang a few fast songs that made her, well, jiggle, and I can remember that being a highlight.

The bottom line is that she had some good songs, but there was nothing that compared to the Edwin McCain stuff.

Fast forward to a month later. I am flipping through the radio when a familiar voice singing a familiar song comes through the speakers. It takes a second, but I realized it was the girl from 328 Performance Hall. We had seen her live, and, suddenly, she was the biggest thing around. The radio and the listeners could not get enough of Jewel.Jewel

Jewel had several hits in a short amount of time, then she married a rodeo star. Now, TMZ says they are getting divorced. I wonder if she will start touring again. I also wonder whatever happened to Edwin McCain.

 

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The Farm House – A Great Dining Experience

6 Jul

Today is our first anniversary, and we have been celebrating for the past couple of days. The Fourth of July was spent at a friend’s pool, and, last night, we spent an evening in Nashville. We got a room at the Omni Hotel and had dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Choosing the hotel was not difficult. The Omni has quickly established itself as Nashville’s best hotel. However, choosing a place to eat proved more difficult. I type that in a good way. Great restaurants have popped up all over the place, and Nashville has become foodie heaven. Chefs from throughout the nation have opened eateries, and magazines have named Nashville the “It City” when it comes to great dining.

We have made it a mission to dine at as many of them as possible. Husk. The Catbird Seat. Urban Grub. There are too many to name.

Last night, we chose one that was near the hotel. We have been hearing a lot about it and figured it would be a good time to try it out. There is only one thing I know to say.

The Farm House is the best restaurant in Nashville. The food was awesome, and it was plentiful. One of the problems I have with hip restaurants is that they bring out an artistic creation, but it leaves you hungry afterwards. Farmhouse is the best of both. The food is an artistic creation. However, they know you are there to eat and make sure you go away knowing that you have done so.Farmhouse

All of that is awesome, but here is the best thing. The owner/chef did not come to us from New York or Los Angeles. He grew up right here in Wilson County. In fact, he offers a great drink called the Wilson County Sangria. With a name like that, we had to have one.

It is always good to see a local person do good, and we told the waiter that very thing. The next thing we know, a dessert is being delivered to us by the owner himself, Trey Cioccia. He talked about growing up in these parts and how he got into the cooking business. He also talked about how there are only a few chefs in Nashville who are natives and how they feel proud to be doing this in their hometown.

We walked out proud of him because someone from our hometown has created the best dining experience in the area. On top of that, he is in the process of moving out of the big city and buying some property back home in Wilson County.

If you find yourself in Nashville, then you have to make your way to The Farm House.

 

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Remembering Steve McNair

4 Jul

July 4, 2009 – People throughout Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area were getting ready for a big Fourth of July celebration. The huge fireworks show in downtown was being prepared. Streets were being blocked off for the crowds. People were cooking out in the surrounding counties. I had just shown up at my friend’s house in Rutherford County.

That is when the shocking news began to spread. I got texts. We turned on the television. News vans had descended on a condo in Nashville where Steve McNair was found dead.Steve McNair

I did not know Steve McNair. One night, I saw him shooting pool in a bar, but that does not mean you know someone. However, I was one of thousands of people who walked into a football stadium and watched him play quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.

He was more than a quarterback. He was the icon of a city. When the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans, a lot of people thought it would never work. Nashville was not big enough to support an NFL team. The first years proved the doubters right as the team struggled in Memphis and at Vanderbilt’s stadium before getting a home of their own. As the team struggled, Steve McNair got much of the blame.

However, when they got into the new stadium, the abilities of McNair and the rest of the team appeared. Imagine not having an NFL team in your city then getting one. Take your imagination further and think about how it would feel if that team went to the Super Bowl in their first year. On top of that, include a miracle play that propelled them on the magical run.

That year was great, and the fans were spoiled. Heck, this must be the way it is going to be every year.

I was in the Georgia Dome when Steve McNair almost completed one of the great comebacks in Super Bowl history. The team fell one yard short, but it epitomized what we would see from him in the years to come.

Steve McNair was a quarterback, but he was also a leader. He showed his toughness by playing hurt and running over defenders. He proved his college nickname of “Air McNair” was true when he won the MVP award. People admired him for his leadership and his ability. It was as if nothing could bring Steve McNair down.

Five years ago, that was proven wrong. As the days passed, the coverage of his death was constantly on television. It was one of the biggest news stories in Nashville’s history. People wondered what happened, and, eventually, the police told us. Steve McNair was the victim of a murder/suicide carried out by a young woman he had a relationship with. Obviously, that young woman was not his wife.

I am not here to judge him on his decisions. I am here to say that those who saw him play will remember those great games, but they will also remember when they heard the news of his death. On July 4, the people of Middle Tennessee celebrate Independence Day with fireworks and cookouts. However, many of them will also think about Steve McNair; the impact he had on this area; and the tragedy that befell him.

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The Torturous Career of Daniel Craig

3 Jul

My wife loves Daniel Craig. She talks about how good-looking he is and about how he is her favorite actor. I respond with my admiration for the acting abilities and other aspects of Olivia Wilde. However, I also respond by talking about Daniel’s acting abilities.Daniel Craig

All actors have a specialty within their craft. Some can disappear into a character. Others are better in action sequences. Some work better in the brooding role of an art house film. Others are better at comedy than at drama. A few can do both. Obviously, actors are versatile, but they still have some things that they are better at doing.

Daniel Craig has been in historical dramas, spy thrillers, westerns and many other types of films. However, his specialty is playing a tortured person. I am not talking about having a tortured soul of someone who has had a life of misfortune. I am talking about someone who is getting flayed, beaten, whipped and any other torturous act that comes to mind.

He must be good at playing a tortured person because there is a recurring theme to his movies. Daniel Craig is always finding himself in these situations.

I first remember seeing Daniel in Elizabeth, the 1998 movie about the early reign of Elizabeth I. Many powerful people did not want her on the throne, and Daniel Craig was sent to stir up rebellion and assassinate her. He was not very good at his job because he got caught. In one of the films most dramatic scenes, Geoffrey Rush has Daniel hung from the rafters with blood dripping to the floor. He is being tortured until he spills the beans on the other conspirators.

He ended up talking, and Elizabeth’s reign is saved.

Daniel continued acting in some forgettable movies until he hit the big time in 2006. That is when he debuted as James Bond in Casino Royale. Honestly, I never thought any Bond movie could be as good as Goldfinger, but this may be the best of the bunch. It definitely pumped new life into an old franchise.

It also showed Daniel at his best. Not when he was chasing bad guys. Not when he was wooing a woman. It happened when he was being tortured by the villain. This was a great scene because of its simplicity. In most movies, a torture scene involves a bunch of elaborate ways to hurt someone and get them to talk. In this case, the bad guy says:

You know, I never understood all these elaborate tortures. It’s the simplest thing… to cause more pain than a man can possibly endure.Torture

Then, he hit Daniel in a place that made every guy in the theater cringe.

With his career in high gear, Daniel had his choice of roles. There were a few missteps. Then, he delved into a genre that I love but that Hollywood deems risky. In 2011, he made a western but not just any western. This one was called Cowboys & Aliens and also starred Olivia Wilde. In our house, this may have been the best movie ever made. That is mostly due to the scene where Olivia Wilde walks out of the fire.Olivia

It is also a movie where Daniel went back to his comfort zone. In a flashback scene, he gets abducted onto an alien spaceship and gets tortured. More accurately, they are going to experiment on him, but that seems like torture to me.

Once again, Daniel shows his acting chops by struggling and sweating as someone tries to cause him great pain.

That same year, Daniel starred in a greatly anticipated movie called The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Based on the book and the foreign film, which was better than this one, he plays a disgraced journalists who is hired to solve an old mystery. He gets help from a young computer hacker who has a ton of issues along with a tattoo of a dragon.

Many people criticize the book and the movie for its apparent hatred toward women. It is true that violence and disregard for women is all over the place. In the most famous scene, the title character is brutally raped while handcuffed to the bed.

However, not all of the violence is directed toward women. As Daniel closes in on the culprit, he finds himself bound in the serial killers basement of horrors. As Daniel hangs by chains, the bad guy suffocates him and runs knife blades across his chest. It is obvious that this guy is going to do things to Daniel that Geoffrey Rush, the Bond villain and the alien would never dream of doing. Luckily for Daniel, the bad guy ended up looking like this.Dead

Obviously, Daniel Craig is a successful actor who has obtained on of the iconic roles in movie history. He has also tried his hand at other genres. However, he has also tended to revert back to his comfort zone, and that seems to be in the torture chamber.

 

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My iPod Has Issues – 1812? Are You Sure?

2 Jul

Tonight, we are going to hear the Nashville Symphony play a rousing concert of patriotism. All kinds of American composers will be featured, but the finale will be Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Unfortunately, that piece of music has nothing to do with American patriotism. A lot of people think it commemorates the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Actually, it celebrates Russia’s defense against Napoleon in that year.Napoleon

Anyway, it has become a staple for symphonies around the Fourth of July.

Soon, I will have to start getting ready for our sojourn into the big city. With that in mind, I leave you with a set list from my crazy iPod. It may not be patriotic, but it will be rousing.

“It’s Been a Long Time” by New Birth

“Tender Years” by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band

“Why Can’t He Be You” by Loretta Lynn

“Mandolin Wind” by Rod Stewart

“My Old School” by Steely Dan

“Maybe” by The Chantels

“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” by Whitesnake

“Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead

“Daddy Frank” by Merle Haggard

“The Monkey Song” by Stacey Mitchhart

“Fantastic Voyage” by Lakeside

“Lyin’ Eyes” by The Eagles

“Looking for a Rainbow” by Chris Rea

“Chains of Love” by Big Joe Turner

“Longhaired Redneck” by David Allan Coe

“Tush” by ZZ Top

“The Last Pale Light in the West” by Ben Nichols

“Pinball Machine” by Lonnie Irving

“Little Red Rooster” by Big Mama Thornton

“Runaway” by Del Shannon

Now, I am to prepare for the symphony and that long-haired music.

 

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Out of the Dark

1 Jul

When my old laptop died, I had to get another one. There was no way I was going to know what to get, so I asked my nephew. Under his guidance, I bought a Mac, and it is a cool piece of machinery. It has all kinds of bells and whistles that I have no idea how to use. However, there is one thing that is mega-cool. The keyboard lights up.

That means I can work in the dark, and, as I have always said, I do some of my best work in the dark. Some people refer to my office as a cave because there is only a single bulb burning. More than once, a security person has stopped by because they thought I had left my door open by accident.

I have always liked the dark. Nights are better than days. Staying up late is better than getting up early. It could be the mystery of the dark that fascinates me. You cannot really tell everything that is going on. People do things differently in the dark than they do in the light. Simply, darkness is a favorite of mine.

Just think about all of the cool stuff that is associated with the dark.

The Dark Knight (Batman at his best.)

Dark Chocolate (Good stuff.)

It was a dark and stormy night. (Every book should begin this way.)

Cinemax After Dark (I got cable in my room way too soon.)

Darkman (Alright, this one is a little obscure. If you think Liam Neeson was a badass in Taken, then you should see him in this.)Darkman

Dark Shadows (Think of it as Phantom of the Soap Opera.)

Dark Night (A great song by The Blasters. Everyone should give it a listen.)

Dark Horse (Not the Katy Perry song. I am talking about that person who comes from nowhere to achieve greatness.)

The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd made what could be the greatest album of all time.)Dark Side

The Dark Tower (A series of books by Stephen King about Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger.)Dark Tower

On The Dark Side (A song from Eddie and the Cruisers that was actually performed by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.)

See, there are a lot of great things that come out of the dark.

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