Kevin is wondering...

August 14, 2008

Kevin is wondering ...

what happens when you stick a kitchen knife in an electric socket?

The Adventures of Mr. Moose on Facebook

20080814 KED Knife in socket

Manic Monday: Massive Attack - Dissolved Girl August 11 2008

20080811 Manic Monday Massive Attack Dissolved Girl

Manic Monday: Massive Attack - Dissolved Girl

August 11, 2008

It’s been Monday all day. Word has it that it will be Monday for quite a few more hours… At least I have two of my three columns due for this week filed. Right now I need a snack and a nap…

Massive Attack Dissolved Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT8QT4BEOTo




David Sylvian - Orpheus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2dgMNm64Mg



More: Art Music electronica Massive Attack

Art Music electronica

Art Music electronica Sylvian – David Sylvian

20080605 “Pretty in Pink” and Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”

Untold - A Pretty in Pink Trailer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5dSFgY7ro4Y

For fans of the movie, “Pretty in Pink,” this YouTube is a video about “Pretty in Pink,” with Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” for the soundtrack.

The poster, fayzabeam wrote:

This is DEFINITELY the last Pretty in Pink video for the time being! I wanted to experiment with using some dialogue from the film in a video, to see if it actually was possible to represent a slash subtext using the actual script. I had to be creative here, but I think it works! The song, whilst not contemporary to the film, works well as a backing track; the footage itself was built around one long, slow clip of James Spader that I'd forgotten to include in the previous videos and I desperately wanted to give a home to! Oh, one thing - there is some *strong* language in this video, because it has dialogue - consider yourself warned!

####

20080605 “Teardrop” by “Massive Attack”

"Teardrop" - Massive Attack

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yftOy8kz7aE

Best played at 11… JSD will understand that…

“Teardrop” was released as a single on April 21, 1998 by “Massive Attack.” It first appeared on their album “Messanine.” I had meant to post this on the 10^th anniversary of its release and was overtaken by events. I get so annoyed when work gets in the way of art.

Related:

Dayhoff "Five Easy Pieces"

Dayhoff literature of the absurd

20080131 The “old” blog Kevin Dayhoff’s “Storage Closet” can be found here

20080605 “Pretty in Pink” and Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”

*****

The poster, fayzabeam wrote:

Your moment of Zen to Teardrop by Massive Attack. These are fractured images from the Hubble Space Telescope. They are animated in iMovie on a Macbook. The reference to Portishead at the end of the film is an error. But once I posted it, I didn't want to pull the video so the error remains. Sorry.

Liz fraser

(love)love is a verb

Love is a doing word

Feathers on my breath

Gentle impulsion

Shakes me makes me lighter

Feathers on my breath

Teardrop on the fire

Feathers on my breath

In the night of matter

Black flowers blossom

Feathers on my breath

Black flowers blossom

Feathers on my breath

Teardrop on the fire

Feathers on my breath

Water is my eye

Most faithful my love

Feathers on my breath

Teardrop on the fire of a confession

Feathers on my breath

Most faithful my love

Feathers on my breath

Teardrop on the fire

Feathers on my breath

Another version:

Massive Attack - Teardrop (Dopaminex Remix)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VdCQ9NxxyTo

And yet another:

Massive Attack - Teardrop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6iUBd2D38E

For fans of the movie, “Pretty in Pink,” there is a YouTube video about “Pretty in Pink,” with Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” for the soundtrack. Unfortunately I cannot put it on “Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack” because of the strong language content. Please find it here on Kevin Dayhoff’s Storage Closet:

20080605 “Pretty in Pink” and Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”

Untold - A Pretty in Pink Trailer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5dSFgY7ro4Y

The poster, fayzabeam wrote:

This is DEFINITELY the last Pretty in Pink video for the time being! I wanted to experiment with using some dialogue from the film in a video, to see if it actually was possible to represent a slash subtext using the actual script. I had to be creative here, but I think it works! The song, whilst not contemporary to the film, works well as a backing track; the footage itself was built around one long, slow clip of James Spader that I'd forgotten to include in the previous videos and I desperately wanted to give a home to! Oh, one thing - there is some *strong* language in this video, because it has dialogue - consider yourself warned!

####

20080605 “Teardrop” by “Massive Attack”

20080529 Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Released US September 21, 1968

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RD7s4i_X-p0

Music Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix

Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9, "Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes, and prepare the shield./For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth./And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with such heed./...And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."

####

20080423 Tofu Dusk at the Mellow Mushroom

Tofu Dusk at the Mellow Mushroom

The story of the tofu sandwich at the “Mellow Mushroom” in six parts.

April 23, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5058mbS9zdc

Winston-Salem, North Carolina - - This is the story of Mrs. Owl and I having hummus with pita bread, a tofu sandwich and a calzone; at the “Mellow Mushroom,” 4^th and Marshall St., Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The story is told in six – or so parts…

Storyboard

1. Winston-Salem, North Carolina 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

2. 4^th and Marshall St., Winston-Salem, North Carolina 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

3. Mellow Mushroom, www.mellowmushroom.com Winston-Salem, North Carolina 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

4. Ms. Salem Editing, Mellow Mushroom, 314 West 4^th St., Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

5. Ms. Salem Editing et les amis, Mellow Mushroom, 314 West 4^th St., Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

6. Mrs. Owl, the newspaper reader, Mellow Mushroom, 314 West 4^th St., Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

7. And the band played on… Winston-Salem guitar player… Winston-Salem, North Carolina 04/23/2008 www.kevindayhoff.net

The end

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff

http://www.livejournal.com/

http://gizmosart.com/dayhoff.html

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

Accept differences, Be kind, Count your blessings, Dream, Express thanks, Forgive, Give freely, Harm no one, Imagine more, Jettison anger, Keep confidences, Love truly, Master something, Nurture hope, Open your mind, Pack lightly, Quell rumors, Reciprocate, Seek wisdom, Touch hearts, Understand, Value truth, Win graciously, Xeriscape, Yearn for peace, Zealously support a worthy cause. (Author; Renee Stewart)

20080422 The Happy Colors, Massive Attack, and Carly Simon

The Happy Colors, Massive Attack and Carly Simon

April 22, 2008

Massive Attack - Live With Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LgrGHWSy6k

This song reminded me of:

Carly Simon- “That's the Way I Always Heard It Should Be” from 1971

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JdFjWZBRl6U

And it also reminded me of:

19960422 "The Happy Colors" The Dream of the Pink Zebras 04.22.1996 Binder # 15 v. #4.0095 07.1995 –

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/1996/04/19960422-happy-colors-dream-of-pink.html

"The Happy Colors" The Dream of the Pink Zebras 04.22.1996 Binder # 15 v. #4.0095 07.1995 –

04/22/1996

"Life has a value only when it has something valuable as its object". HEGEL, Introduction to Philosophy of History (1852)

"We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving". NIETZSCHE, "On Reading and Writing" _ Thus spoke Zarathustra (1883-1892)

"Always develop solutions to challenges that can withstand testing conditions that closely approximate reality". GRANDPA DAYHOFF, "The Frozen Chicken Test" (11.1994)

...of which reminds me of a story that has been in my head for years... a love story called:

"The Happy Colors"

© Kevin Dayhoff April 22, 1996

A sultry August ocean breeze drooled over them as they stood poised at the railing on the balcony of the large art-deco condominium overlooking a vast ocean beyond. Far below little people and cars scurried about putting away the remains of another day at the beach. The cries of tired children, squeals of laughter and the banter of parental instructions all jumbled together with the calls of the sea gulls and an ocean's heartbeat pumped waves that crashed upon the shore. It was music written by the Great Composer in the sky. A piece called "The Happy Colors".

The colors were to be remembered so well. The breeze ruffling her long hair ever so delicately. The sparkle of her eyes as she gazed at the deep azure expanse of the ocean below. The deep maroon of the setting sun as it echoed off her glass of red wine held so deftly in her seasoned, thoughtful fingers. A warm smile sprung from her inviting crimson lips, brightening her face which reflected the flickering yellow candle light. A lone white candle stood sentry, melting on to a black tablecloth that maintained the remains of abandoned china and dessert for two. The cream of her graceful gown mimicked the creamy black russian captured in the solid glass grasped in his deeply creased and weathered hands. His graying hair contrasted with the dark black of his finely tailored black tuxedo.

Their conversation drifted from the previous discussion of how they had met, and parted, in their childhood years. Perhaps they had even been lovers in a previous life. The years had marched by. And although they had lived separately for all these years, they had never left each other. They hadn't regretted their lives apart, but, then again, they did. Neither had known the other was to be at this function. This meeting again, for the first time, all over again; it was of serendipitous happenstance. As wave upon wave crashed and pounded upon the shore below, their eyes remained transfixed upon one another, oblivious to the party's banter, as their hearts crashed and pounded in unison in their warm chests. A grandfather clock dutifully stood sentry and watched the crowd beyond, and kept them away, as it quietly announced the time, seemingly, only to them...Midnight.

A stimulating intellectual discourse ensued. Alice B. Toklas was instrumental to whatever it was, that Gertrude Stein became. F. Scott Fitzgerald needed the catharsis of Zelda's being in order to create. Nietzsche fleshed out the paragraphs of their life but Hegel defined their meaning and Sartre gave them the punctuation. They had built their lives, their own way, and though they had had their shortcomings here and there, they were happy with the lives they had lived, albeit apart. They had made the best choices that they could make, not that they always had the criteria necessary in order to make the choices. They had made their choices in life because they had to make the choices. They had soared in hostile air. In a life of no inherent meaning, they had created a meaning. Their meaning. Now, older and wiser, the works that they had created, the thoughts they had promoted, the decisions they had made; were all the foundation of the work that laid ahead, that needed to be done.

They continued on to a poem that had marked their decisions in life, by a sage author they had long since forgotten....Does one build a fence at the top of the chasm of life or provide for an ambulance below?

At that, the handsome young waiter tentatively inquired about their needs.... They had none. Then again. Maybe one more drink before they left the party and parted company once again. To again do what they had to do. Because it is what it is, this life of their's.

"Yes, I'll have another black russian for me and a glass of red wine for the lady. Thank you".

The jazz quartet played a soft number in the background as the party in her honor grew quiet, reflecting about their chance meeting. Many smiled, some mused philosophically, others miffed jealously. Meanwhile, on the balcony, the lovers discussed their latest endeavors as they entwined in dance to the soft caresses of the music, oblivious to the quiet banter beyond.

They danced so softly together. Her hand ran longingly through his graying hair. Her long hair blowing across his eyes. The sun dipping below a wanting horizon. The sea gulls sang their good night praises of yet another great day in a great life.

The wise grandfather clock called to them that it was, indeed, time to go. They wanted this moment to never end. As the waiter appeared at the door of the balcony, as they held each others hand so tightly and gazed into each others eyes, as they whispered how much they were in lover and how glad they were that they had found each other again.

They a paused at the railing of the 17th floor and gazed into the sun's remains of the day and promised that they'd never part again... At that;

they climbed upon the railing, and jumped.

Grandpa Dayhoff 04.22.1996

"The more absurd life is, the more insupportable death is". JEAN-PAUL SARTRE, The Words (1964)

"Man's 'progress' is but a gradual discovery that his questions have no meaning". SAINT-EXUPERY, The Wisdom of the Sands (1948)

"Life has to be given a meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning". HENRY MILLER, "Creative Death", The Wisdom of the Heart (1941)

"Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve". ERICH FROMM, Man for Himself (1947)

To be an artist is to jump...to jump from the comforts and confines...from behind the railing...then experience the free-for-all-fall of the intellectual, artistic unknown and document the meaning, your own meaning that which you and you alone, give this existence.

This piece has been in my head for years. I have not a clue as to what "the jump" is all about. Perhaps I should have left "the jump" in my head, but I had grown tired of the space it was taking up. Perhaps, "the jump" is an existential artistic exercise and can be interpreted as affirming. Anyway, I've always gotten a kick out of the incongruous, Hemingway-twist ending. I guess I'm a bit worried that many will find this piece disturbing. Well, it is what it is. I think perhaps the piece is allegorical. It's art. It's done. Now I have room for another piece.....Mr. Eaton would have liked this I'll bet....

Grandpa Dayhoff 04.22.1996

"The Happy Colors" The Dream of the Pink Zebras 04.22.1996 Binder # 15 v. #4.0095 07.1995 –

Kevin Dayhoff, a slave to the masters of the page - the little soldiers in my life – words

20080422 The Happy Colors, Massive Attack, and Carly Simon

20080416 Today is Beatrice Dalle - French movie day

Today is Beatrice Dalle - French movie day

(17 fois Cécile Cassard) Pretty Killer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nTryJX7cn4

Scène de danse entre Beatrice Dalle et Romain Duris, tirée du film dix-sept fois Cecile Cassard (Christophe Honoré).

Now the party is over,

And I guess im over too,

The music is going slower,

I just cant take my eyes of you,

Pretty killer,

Little crime,

Dancing with another guy.

I have no chance to kiss you later,

I think I’ve lost too many times,

I am too drunk to be your lover,

You’re too sober to be mine.

Pretty killer...

There’s no more common eyedline,

no more djs to save my life,

what I could I do to froddon him,

I’ve forgot to take my knife...

Betty Blue - Last Scene

37°2 le matin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIaU1us81Ts

37,2 le matin – Rose

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1drrmSLOIdU

Scène du film de Jean-Jacques Beineix où Béatrice Dalle s'emballe et verse un pot de peinture sur la caisse du monstrueux proprio.

20080416 Today is Beatrice Dalle - French movie day

37°2 le matin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR0rp__rRAk

20080403 “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed – with Luciano Pavarotti

20080403 “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed – with Luciano Pavarotti

“Perfect Day” by Lou Reed – with Luciano Pavarotti

“You made me forget myself; I thought I was someone else, someone good.” Lou Reed – “Perfect Day” off the 1972 classic, “Transformer album.

(A Lou Reed lollapalooza…)

April 3, 2008

The ever-so existential “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed is one of my all time favorite songs. I was e-mailing with Saboteur (pictured below-right with Andrew Bird) earlier today and she mentioned Lou Reed – which reminded me…

And I’m a huge Luciano Pavarotti fan. So it blew me away when I came across this video of Lou Reed and Luciano Pavarotti singing “It’s a perfect day” together.

What a hoot. Please enjoy:

Lou Reed and Luciano Pavarotti Perfect Day 2001

Lou Reed & Luciano Pavarotti - Perfect Day - live at Pavarotti and friends 2001

Here’s another great version:

Okay – for the purists…

Perfect Day

Just a perfect day,

Drink sangria in the park,

And then later, when it gets dark,

We go home.

Just a perfect day,

Feed animals in the zoo

Then later, a movie, too,

And then home.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,

I’m glad I spent it with you.

Oh such a perfect day,

You just keep me hanging on,

You just keep me hanging on.

Just a perfect day,

Problems all left alone,

Weekenders on our own.

It’s such fun.

Just a perfect day,

You made me forget myself.

I thought I was someone else,

Someone good.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,

I’m glad I spent it with you.

Oh such a perfect day,

You just keep me hanging on,

You just keep me hanging on.

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow...

Perfect Day

“Five Easy Pieces”

20080403 “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed – with Luciano Pavarotti

“Perfect Day” by Lou Reed – with Luciano Pavarotti

“You made me forget myself; I thought I was someone else, someone good.” Lou Reed – “Perfect Day” off the 1972 classic, “Transformer album.

(A Lou Reed lollapalooza…)

April 3, 2008

The ever-so existential “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed is one of my all time favorite songs. I was e-mailing with Saboteur (pictured below-right with Andrew Bird) earlier today and she mentioned Lou Reed – which reminded me…

And I’m a huge Luciano Pavarotti fan. So it blew me away when I came across this video of Lou Reed and Luciano Pavarotti singing “It’s a perfect day” together.

What a hoot. Please enjoy:

Lou Reed and Luciano Pavarotti Perfect Day 2001

Lou Reed & Luciano Pavarotti - Perfect Day - live at Pavarotti and friends 2001

Here’s another great version:

Okay – for the purists…

Perfect Day

Just a perfect day,

Drink sangria in the park,

And then later, when it gets dark,

We go home.

Just a perfect day,

Feed animals in the zoo

Then later, a movie, too,

And then home.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,

I’m glad I spent it with you.

Oh such a perfect day,

You just keep me hanging on,

You just keep me hanging on.

Just a perfect day,

Problems all left alone,

Weekenders on our own.

It’s such fun.

Just a perfect day,

You made me forget myself.

I thought I was someone else,

Someone good.

Oh it’s such a perfect day,

I’m glad I spent it with you.

Oh such a perfect day,

You just keep me hanging on,

You just keep me hanging on.

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow,

you’re going to reap just what you sow...

Perfect Day

“Five Easy Pieces”

20080102 Fragmentary patchworks

Fragmentary patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements.

January 2^nd, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

Happy New Year Mr. Isaac Smith. Thanks for the mention - The List (No, Not the Washington Post's). [Free State Politics Maryland's online progressive community.]

Michael Swartz's list of local blogs to watch in 2008 is pretty good. It is missing a few good blogs of note, however…

As much as I agreed with most, but not all, of Mr. Swartz’s list, your list is right on the money. I also miss Stephanie Dray’s Jousting for Justice. And I am very happy that Crablaw's Maryland Weekly is back…

And thanks for calling to our attention the Washington Post’s list: Year in Review 2007 - “The List: What's In and Out for 2008” BY HANK STUEVER - WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITER - – what a hoot. (And don’t miss giving The Year That Was 2007 by Brian Griffiths a good read. He obviously spent some time thinking about it…)

Your post could not have been timed better as it came shortly after a conversation with a dear colleague who said they like my blog – although I’m too liberal.

Ay caramba - whatever.

Along that thread, another colleague said “Dayhoff … your problem is that you like everybody.”

To that I plead guilty – life is way to short. Then again, maybe not – I don’t like mean people; and that personality defect occurs in folks from all political persuasions.

I simply do not allow politics to dictate my friends - - and I don’t like folks who do pick their friends based on politics. (I’ll be having lunch later in the week with a dear friend with whom I disagree about everything when it comes to politics.) I can disagree with folks about issues, but more often than not – I like the person…

As far as your observation: “… his actual blog hard to read -- its look is extremely busy and most of the posts are just link aggregations…” Hey, you oughta be in my head…

At least with the blog, there is an attempt at organization… I also find my blog “hard to read” and try as I might, after blogging for a number of years, it is still way too busy.

Perhaps my blog is a manifestation of being a hypergraphic attention deficit disorder hyperactive dyslexic. Maybe – just maybe, one day I’ll figure out what I’m doing. Being a technology geek – one would’ve thought blogging would be easy for me. It is not.

At this point, on the blog evolutionary scale, my blog is a monkey on roller skates. The monkey may or may not be wearing a pink tutu - this is for you to decide.

Years ago, I thought blogging would be easy for a columnist and short story writer. It has not been the case. And within the last number of months, I picked up a third (newspaper) column every week; which just proves the “Peter Principle” is real. I’m now way beyond my intellectual and cognitive abilities.

Heckfire – some days, I’m proud to have even found the time, much less the cognitive abilities - to post “link aggregations.”

Meanwhile, I am painstakingly determined to promote constant attention on current procedures of transacting business focusing emphasis on innovative ways to better, if not supercede, the expectations of quality. What I really need in order to navigate the treacherous waters that lie ahead is a list of specific unknown problems I will encounter.

Always remember, the purpose of my blog is to discuss fragmentary patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements as juxtaposed by the undeniable command mortality of insignificant self-inflicted syntactic semiotic economics which sometimes may cause irreproducible results unless there is a pre-emptive digital fallibility matrix which would require an integrated third-generational triangulated refinement of indefinite managerial potential.

As I wax philosophic with metaphysical postulations, incomplete aphorisms and inconsistent sophism that allows me to conclude, more and more sure, that the only true thing about anything is nothing.

Now I know you believe you understand what you think I just said but I am sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

As always, your thoughtful consideration is appreciated regardless of the outcome on any particular issue. Whether we agree or disagree, always find my door open for friendly civil and constructive dialogue.

Pray for my wife.

Best wishes for a great 2008.

20080102 Fragmentary patchworks

20080102 Fragmentary patchworks

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

20071101 Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

November 1, 2007

My October 31, 2007 – Wednesday Westminster Eagle column is up on the Westminster Eagle web site and it pertains to one of my favorite forms of literature, Southern Gothic storytelling and one of my favorite songs from my teenage years, “Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry.

I lost most the following paragraphs to my word limit…

Ms. Gentry was born Roberta Streeter in nearby Chickasaw County, Mississippi, on July 27, 1944, where she grew up in severe poverty on her grandparents’ farm. Her grandmother facilitated her exploration of writing and music when she traded a family cow for a piano. At the age of seven, Ms. Streeter – Gentry wrote her first song, “My Dog Sergeant Is a Good Dog.”

When Ms. Gentry first released the song, it was the “B” side of a debut “forty-five” which featured a song, “Mississippi Delta.” Disk jockeys became more intrigued with “Ode to Billy Joe” and started giving it considerable airtime – and it crossed over from country music stations to “Top 40.” It topped the charts for four weeks in August 1967, sold three million copies, and won her three Grammy awards.

The narrator of the story is not identified in Ms. Gentry’s haunting and mysterious tale of a young man who commits suicide. The song comes to mind as Halloween is upon us and thoughts wonder to trick or treating or the community Halloween Parade - and ghost stories. Carroll County is awash in ghost stories for your enjoyment. That is of course, if you believe in ghosts. Do you believe in ghosts?

The column started out as an “evergreen,” an obligatory column for a particular seasonal event in the year.

Many of my colleagues who write for newspapers abhor “evergreens,” however I have always seen them as a challenge to come up with a different angle on a perennial topic, in this case, a piece on Halloween.

The piece started out very differently as when I neared deadline I jettisoned the customary tome on ghost stories in Carroll County with the standard fare on the origins of Halloween.

I got off on a tangent with a variation on the old “Crybaby Bridge” standard and quickly left quite a bit of work on the cutting room floor. To wit, most of the following, along with an additional 400 words were killed off:

As with many of our customs, observances and holidays, Halloween evolved over many centuries as a combination of several non-Christian ancient harvest celebrations and rituals combined with religious celebrations. The roots of Halloween go back as far as the 5^th century BC in Celtic Ireland, when October 31 was celebrated as “Samhain,” the Celtic New Year.

For the economic historian, it is widely accepted that Halloween came to America along with the significant Irish wave of immigrants as a result of the economic hardships brought on by the Irish potato famine from 1845 to 1851.

Halloween is upon and thoughts wonder to trick or treating or the community Halloween Parade.

And ghost stories. Carroll County is awash in ghost stories for your enjoyment. That is of course, if you believe in ghosts.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Among some of the old favorites in Carroll County are the Ghost of Furnace Hills; the Civil War soldier that roams around in Cockey’s Tavern; the ghost of the old Rebecca at the old jail, which now houses Junction, a drug abuse treatment center; and the headless apparition of Marshall Buell at the old Odd Fellows Hall in Westminster.

[…]

_____

Let’s go watch Billy Bob throw a public official off the Rt. 140 Bridge

October 31, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff (706 words)

It was forty years ago in the late summer of 1967 that we first learned from “Mama” that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor “said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

I first heard the song, “Ode to Billy Joe,” by Bobbie Gentry that summer on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio. It was also in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential - “Southern Gothic” genre of storytelling.

To refresh your memory, the song can be found on the web at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt5Q-u4crc.

Other examples of authors of the Southern gothic genre of writing include William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, and Harper Lee. Tennessee Williams once described the genre as stories that reflect “an intuition of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience.”

Who can forget: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day… And mama hollered at the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet." And then she said she got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge. Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

Of course another intriguing feature of the story is that it takes place in Carroll County: “And brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billy Joe put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show.”

Ms. Gentry has to this day remained circumspect about the haunting and mysterious tale of Mr. MacAllister, but one thing we do know is that the “Carroll County” she is referring to in the song is “Carroll County Mississippi.” Come to find out, there are approximately 13 places in the United States called “Carroll County.”

The song comes to mind as Halloween is upon us and thoughts wonder to ghost stories. Carroll County is awash in ghost stories for your enjoyment.

Halloween ghost stories are fascinating as often they involve aspects of unexplained historical events, enigmatic dialogue, and inexplicable characters. However, over the years, I have become much more enamored with Southern gothic storytelling, which is frequently more creative – and often more disturbing in the manner it which it peels away the layers of a community or society; yet does not tell a reader ‘what to think,’ but nevertheless causes the reader ‘to think.’

Just like Halloween stories, the song’s plot makes known several themes. The first of which is obvious in that just like many popular Carroll County Halloween stories, it reveals a snapshot of life in a particular period in history.

But it is the other prominent theme that is particularly disturbing as it peels away the layers of indifference that contemporary society shows towards our fellow human beings – or in the case of “Ode to Billy Joe,” the loss of life.

In present day Carroll County, every other public hearing is “Halloween” as this theme often manifests itself in the cavalier manner in which folks will often engage in character assassination in the pursuit of a particular agenda.

In the song the family of the narrator nonchalantly mentions the gentleman’s death: “Billy Joe never had a lick of sense/ pass the biscuits, please.” Of course the narrator of the story cares: “Mama said to me "Child, what's happened to your appetite? I've been cookin' all morning and you haven't touched a single bite.” Other than that, they may as well been having a dinner conversation about the weather.

Happy Halloween. By all means, please enjoy some of the old favorites in Carroll County like the Ghost of Furnace Hills; the Civil War soldier that roams around in Cockey’s Tavern; the ghost of the old Rebecca at the old jail, and the headless apparition of Marshall Buell at the old Odd Fellows Hall in Westminster.

Better yet, the next chance you get, go to the Carroll County Public Library and re-read Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” or Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

Or, of course, you can attend a good ole’ Carroll County public hearing and really see a modern day horror story unfold in real time - “and watch she and Billy Bob throwing public officials off the Rt. 140 Bridge.”

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr AT org

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