The Legend-News

Convoy 2000
Tuesday, June 6, 2000, in a rest area on I-10 near San Bernardino. Yes, that's the official starting point for Convoy 2000, a somewhat-organized attempt to drive (almost) coast-to-coast with a bunch a' C.W. McCall fans armed with CB radios and having too much vacation time on their hands. :)

We've got a great press release, written by Carey Dodson, and soon the world will know of our plans. Bahahahahaha!

Last Week On "Other Wild Places"
If you're not a member of the Other Wild Places mailing list, here's what you missed in the past week:

• Lynne's encounter with a DJ who ought to know better:

  One of our local radio stations is very commercialized and will never play any C.W. McCall music when I call in to request it. Well, one day, they were having a contest and the winner would win front row seats to a Joe Diffie concert. The contest went like this: the DJ said he was going to request a song by an artist and the first person to call in and play the song to him would win. They made it clear that you could not call in until you had the CD/Tape player all set up and ready to play the song.

  Then he made the announcement: "I want to hear 'Convoy', by C.W. McCall." I just so happened to already have that CD in the player (why wouldn't I?). I called immediately and the DJ was shocked when I played 'Convoy' for him in an instant. He said, "How in the world did you ever get to us so quickly with that old song?"

  Little did he know that C.W. McCall is still alive and strong in many people's lives : )

• Chris' accidental education while channel-surfing:

  Was flipping channels this morning and happened across the new Ripley's Believe It Or Not show. They had a story about a mummified head that had once belonged to the infamous Al Packer. They described his demise as being the sole survior of a mining expedition, only because he cannibalized the remains of his fellow miners. He was tried and sentenced to hang, but was released and the charges dropped for unknown reasons. He died shortly thereafter and was buried. Some ne'er-do-well then dug up his body and decapitated him. Ripley's now has the head. Yuk.

• Circumstantial evidence that "Rat" hangs out on alt.culture.us.1970s:

  Edward Floden wrote:
  > BTW, Rat, does this ring a bell?
  > 
  > "...the C.W. McCall web site (yes, there is one)..."
  > 
  
  Hangin' out in alt.culture.us.1970s, are ya? 
  
  Or maybe you just do Deja searches for C.W.? :)

Not to mention the continuing discussion of Convoy 2000 and other world-shaking events.

So, if you're reading The Legend-News online, why not join the list? There's a sign-up form on the main page, near the middle.

And if you're already on the list, c'mon, admit it. You really wanted to read those messages again, didn't you?

Top Ten Events In The Life of C.W. McCall
From the home office in McHenry, Illinois, it's the Top Ten List for March 27th, 2000!

10. Born in town called Audubon
9. Had an old cat named Roy
8. Went over a bump and spilt the Kool-Aid
7. Walked the line on 89 in the Arizona sun
6. Running amuck in a pick-'em-up truck
5. Crawling around in that creek
4. Ran the rapids of the Green
3. Crashed the gate doing 98
2. Toured with a fella by the name of Milton

...and the Number One Event in the Life of C.W. McCall...

1. Bashed into the side of the feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs

Song A’ Th’ Week
Lately I've been listening to a lot of western music. No, not that cheatin'-and-lyin' stuff that pervades today's country music, or the twangy pop of Shania Twain, but songs about The West. Stuff with horses, dogies, lots of wide open spaces, and the occasional six-shooter. Yeah, including Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.

On the two post-Rubber Duck albums, C.W. covered songs by other writers. This one, "Night Hawk", is a short story about a man with a past that he'd rather forget.

Night Hawk

(Tom McKeon, Ron Peterson)
From the album Roses For Mama

We'd worked ourselves senseless
Been bustin' down fences
Drivin' dry cattle, no water in sight
As we sat 'round the fire
And cursed the barbed wire
A stranger broke into our light

Not knowin' no better
Some fool went for leather
But a whispered "I wouldn't"
Put an end to the fight
Then he said, "I'm for hire.
"You need a rider.
"And I don't mind ridin' at night."

[Chorus]
Go light on the Night Hawk
He don't smile, he don't talk
To strangers, and seldom to friends
And you'll do well to listen
When he asks you to leave him alone
He won't ask you again

Though the man is a myst'ry
The story is hist'ry
How a range fire came
Like a thief in the night
Took his young wife and babies
His would-bes and maybes
And burned out the love in his life

[Chorus]
Go light on the Night Hawk
He don't smile, he don't talk
To strangers, and seldom to friends
And you'll do well to listen
When he asks you to leave him alone
He won't ask you again

And if you're not up on Western history, a couple of notes:

• "...Been bustin' down fences..."
  In the early days of the West, cross-country cattle drives were unimpeded by man-made boundaries. Rivers still needed to be crossed, but paved roads didn't exist and farms were far apart. But as pioneers moved westward, they began to mark their territory with fences. These fences, often made of barbed wire, usually surrounded the grazing areas of sheep. Cattle ranchers, who let their herds roam freely, did not like fences and took any opportunity to cut them down.
• "...Some fool went for leather..."
  Reached for his pistol, in other words. Although motion pictures give the appearance that almost every man west of the Mississippi had big iron strapped to his leg, the truth is that pistols were not the preferred weapon of choice: the rifle was much more favored.

Original contents Copyright ©2000 Edward Floden. All rights reserved.
"That's the problem with redemption: it usually involves getting nailed to a cross." -- (If I could remember the source, I'd give it.)