Gurdon, Arkansas
December 11, 1952
9:45am
I'm born.
My whole family was from this area of small town Arkansas. one little clump of stores here and another there.
there are three things i remember most about Gurdon. although my faamily moved away, due to cut backs in the Mo. Pac railroad.....a few things stuck in my head forever.
1- when the Butlers moved in next door. Cleda and Gene, with young Brenda and the first cool person i had ever met, Russell Butler. i think of it now and he was probably only 16 or so, but to me he was ageless and brought out in me the need to let grow my 'cool seeds'. he was an artist....a beat nic i think. painted pitures of himself in coffens. i knew i had been influenced.
2--going to vacation Bible school one hot summer . The First Baptist Church...that cool breeze in the auditorium, with kool-aid and cookies....then they ended the day by playing the old hymm Just as i Am. tears rolled down my face and i knew i wanted to give my life to Jesus....so i walked down the aisle
into the arms of Brother Nelson. I was saved. i was 8.
3--the Daisy Queen.
My mother's dream--a place to eat where all the tiny town's teenagers hung out..male car hops, a teen side...which was just a big old room with benches and i could watch them dance....teen agers dancing and girls putting on make up and drinking cokes and the boys---boys from the very early 1960's...flirting with the big hair girls and dancing and me looking and wondering if i could be the boyfriend someday.
soon, however, the family was all packed up and moved to Palestine Texas. New things to freak out about. a new school of hard core red necks...pretty girls and boys in the shower that i remember till this very day.
From Arkansas to Texas. Lyrics being implanted so deep i didn't even know it.