This is old old lawyers again, and I hadn't been on here lately, but I just try to get on here to keep you up on the on the happenings down here and Right now I'm asking for your advice. I'm really I've got something that's going on down here And I don't really understand it first. I want to tell you that I Ain't got no education I just went through the second grade in school and the reason is it wasn't that I couldn't you know learn I was I guess smart as anybody else But when I was in the second grade my daddy moved on the houseboat or old boat down here and he made his living fishing fishing in the bowels and I had to help him and so that meant that I couldn't go to school like everybody else and and Directly I got so far behind you know all the rest of them was You know six seventh grade and and I was still you know down in the third grade Trying to do the best I could so I give up finally and just just dropped out complete and didn't You know decided I could have to try to make it on my own and I've done pretty good for myself really I No more and I know I've managed to make a little money and I bought a little piece of land down here and And got me some cows and You know I I make good money selling the milk and butter to the all this lumber camp up here and then to the school down here and I've done pretty good for myself and I'm not complaining about that But what I am complaining about all of you I mean I think all of you know my my girl she's about 12 years old now and and She I didn't want her to grow up like I done You know not being educated because I think education to get you a long ways in the world today It ain't like it was when I was growing up But I wanted to make sure that she didn't have to drop out of school and that she could get a education So I've done my very very best to keep her in school and and I've done it. I've she you know She goes to school every day I don't believe that girl has missed one day of school and She's in the seventh grade now and oh she is smart that girl She's smart.
She can you read the paper and and she got a one of these computers down here and she can she can use that and Just you know she can just do all kinds of stuff and she also you know has always been Always been interested in music, you know playing the music making music and The only thing that I've ever done in music, you know I can play this old guitar down here and played it all my life But when she was about three years old, you know She used to get up down in front of me when I was playing the guitar and she'd get these spoons She'd you know tap out the rhythm with these spoons and she was you know She could play the spoons good and when she got a little older You know we'd make music down here and she'd be making music on the spoons or she'd be picking out the rhythm on the on the Fiddle strings as this old boy was playing the fiddle and she just always had a real strong Interest in music and has always been had a real knack for it and I'm running out of time here So I'll come back and tell you the rest of it. Oh this old boy is back with you. I was I was telling you about my girl down here You know We're kind of insulated down here where I live and we don't we don't know, you know What's going on up town and like I say we're insulated But anyway when my girl you know started what they call junior high down here Well, they had the you know bus her to school up town because we don't have junior high down here and First thing she heard about was uh, they had a band You know when she wanted to play in it cuz well I told you know She's always liked music and always played music all her life and so she wanted to join up with the band and When she went in there to talk to him about it Well see they had give out all the instruments because well all them others you know, they was in town and they know about it and She missed you know first old couple days of school cause of the you know water being up And she couldn't get couldn't catch the bus you know couldn't get to the bus stop to catch the bus and So she missed the first couple days and by that time they'd give out all the instruments and And she couldn't join and she come home just crying just you know, Emily She just she just uh, thanks a world of the of the people at school, you know, she always has she's always you know Been a mannerly girl and so it just hurt her feelings so much and uh, I told her I'd straighten it out She didn't want me to go up there. She said no, I don't go up there daddy But I did I went on up there anyway, and I got that that Man fell out there and I know I know him, you know, I've seen him up town when I go up there and he said well He was just as sorry as he could be he said, you know, he didn't aim to Cut her out in a way, but he said he just didn't know that that uh She was interested in the band and besides that he said it was you know first come first serve that is uh all them other kids Had to write uh, you know choose the instruments that they wanted well, I understand that I know he didn't mean didn't mean no harm But he said he did have a one other instrument that was left and he called it a fasoon is what he called it I've never heard of a fasoon, but that's what he had and I said well, let's let's hear it Let's say can you blow it and let me hear what it sounds like well, it was a It was a crooked thing looked like a look like part of a steel is what it looked like And he got that thing out and bloat it and it sounded like a goose honking's what it sounded like It sounded just like a goose a honking and I said who in the world would want to hear something like that And he said well, it was for effect is what he said said, you know A lot of people like for that fasoon to come in and he give it uh effect is what he said Well, I asked him didn't he have something else and he said no, that's the only thing they had So uh, he he said he wished he could had some others, but he said they had a the budget was uh Or limited he said and said they didn't have enough money to buy all the instruments that they wanted But he said that if he had one that he would let her play it But the only thing he had was that fasoon and that if she didn't want to play it well, uh You know, I asked her about it and she Said no that she didn't want to play that And uh, of course he had told me that if somebody wanted to buy an instrument that they could Well, I'll get back to this story in just a minute because I'm running out of time Uh, this is old blowers back with you and I wanted to tell you that yeah, he told me that if if she wanted to buy An instrument said he'd let her play it.
He said he just didn't have one and so uh I went down to the store there in town and I got her a real good Uh harmonica not just uh, not just one of them cheapens It was all that thing was a footlong and and took it home and and she was just tickled to death And she started playing that thing of course, you know, oh Emily can play anything She really can she always could and she come in playing wildwood flower and under the double eagle and All with a being he Flowers in heaven. I believe the name of it was she was playing and all kinds of songs And so she took her harmonica to school that way and took it And told him that she had it and and uh, she played it for him and he said that was real good But he said they just didn't have no harmonica's in the band. He said that he thought that she know that they didn't That harmonica wasn't a band instrument and uh, so she come home a crying again and I I just I tailed it up there and I asked him why What give him the right to say what was a band instrument and what wouldn't and I said that uh, you know Lots of people played the harmonica on the grando opry and uh, I'd hear them played on I've heard them played on uh, you know television and uh, I don't see what's wrong with harmonica I don't see how harmonica's any different than a banjo or a fiddle or a guitar or whatever But he finally got mad and he told me I was gonna have to leave Well, I told him that him and me was gonna go around if he didn't let that girl in the band where he called the police And uh, they come and they told me I had to leave. They said they're gonna have to put me in jail if I If I didn't what they called uh Exist if I didn't exist they're gonna have to put me in jail.
So I you know I couldn't afford to go to jail. I've got all these cows down here and these chickens and I couldn't do it So I'm just asking you out there to help me out a little bit I don't understand this and uh, I don't understand what gives that man the right To say what you can play in the band and what you can't. I don't see how one instrument One thing is not just as good as another. Now.
I like all kinds of music and I like I like juice harp and uh, And I like french harp and I like a base fiddle. I like a banjo. I like a fiddle I like all kinds of instruments as a matter of fact The only thing that I've ever heard that I didn't like was that façon that man was rolling on I couldn't see no sense in that and if you can't have a harmonica in a band how come it is that you can have a façon? That's what I don't understand But I wanted to ask all of you if you can write to me and or talk to me and tell me am I wrong because if I am you can tell me I won't get mad.
I won't I won't say nothing. I mean I'll listen to what you got to say But I just don't understand that no way no how and if I'm wrong if you think that that I'm being Mural headed about it. You can tell me and I'll listen to you and if I need to I'll go up there and apologize to the man But anyway, I'm running shorter time So I'm gonna leave it at this and you can give me your opinion and I'll listen at you I really will because I don't know everything