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

####

20070313 Another loony moment from Andy Rooney

Another loony moment from Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney doesn’t write – he types.

March 13^th, 2007 – March 22, 2007

As indicated by the March 13 Frederick News-Post editorial; the paper is taking some heat for printing Andy Rooney's March 5 column, “I feel a draft.”

Justifiably so. The editorial wrote: “In our opinion, Rooney made some thoughtless and downright untrue statements in that column…” I could not agree more… But the column by Mr. Rooney was unworthy of a response. That only draws more attention to his mindless mumblings.

I cannot find the column by Mr. Rooney on the Frederick News-Post web site, however, you may find here on Mr. Rooney’s web site… The column appeared on the CBS web site on March 11, 2007…

The Frederick News-Post editorial wrote:

Andy Rooney's March 5 column, "I feel a draft," addressed the current and pre-World War II composition of the U.S. armed forces. That column has drawn several indignant letters and other communications, and we understand why.

Rooney, a World War II veteran, complained that when, as a college student, he was drafted in August 1941, the Army was already full of soldiers who had joined up as a last resort because they couldn't make a go of it in the wider world. Rooney and thousands like him were called up by the draft intended to fill the ranks for the coming war.

[…]

Several letter writers have suggested that we should not have run Rooney's column. We believe the discussion that it generated has justified the decision to publish it.

The editorial is right – and then again, in a roundabout way, this last paragraph missing a more subtle point.

When I scanned the column, my thoughts were that it was a waste of my time and then I wondered that considering all the talented columnists available these days – Why in the world is the Frederick News-Post running Andy Rooney?

At the time I felt no overwhelming need to respond. I just put the column in the “Ann Coulter” category. I have arrived at a point where I simply ignore her See here: “20070303 Ann Coulter comment on Edwards is reprehensible and here and here: “20070305 Time to Give Coulter the Cold Shoulder.”

The editorial said, “We believe the discussion that it generated has justified the decision to publish it.”

Well, in order to elicit intelligent discussion, run an intelligent column. And it is not a matter as to whether or not I agree with the particular worldview of a particular columnist. Heckfire, I often do not agree with Joe Voltz – but I will actually read his column.

Andy Rooney is a washed-up has-been nebbish. Perhaps the Frederick News-Post may want to consider running a cogent column which folks are actually going to read and gain value.

Run a column which folks are actually going to read and gain value.

To utilize a Truman Capote quote to succinctly critique Mr. Rooney’s columns, ‘That's not writing, it's typing.”

####

20070312 Happy Birthday Jack Kerouac March 12 1922

Happy Birthday Jack Kerouac

March 12, 1922

H/t: Biography.com

I’m not sure I know where my copy of “On the Road” is…

"… nobody knows what’s going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old…"

Of course one of the amusing things about Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” is that I had long understood that he did not know how to drive a car. Although Wikipedia says that he did not learn “to drive until 1956 (at age 34) and he never had a driver's license.”

Whatever.

Baltimore Colt fans will not be amused to know that Mr. Kerouac typed “On the Road” –

“on one long scroll of teletype paper, which Kerouac called "the roll."[1] The roll does exist — it was purchased in 2001 by Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, for $2.4 million — and it was indeed typed in a blazing three weeks, with no margins, singlespaced, and no paragraph breaks.

But the myth of the story overlooks some of the finer points of the novel's composition. Much of the book was actually written as it happened, over the seven years of Kerouac's travels, in the tiny notebooks that he always carried with him and wrote in during his spare time.

The myth also overlooks the tedious organization and preparation that came before Kerouac's creative explosion, as well as the fact that Kerouac revised the novel several times before Malcolm Cowley of Viking Press agreed to publish it.

Owing to Irsay's ownership of the scroll, it was on display in sections at Indiana University's Lilly Library in mid-2003.

In January 2004, the roll began a 13-stop, four-year national tour of museums and libraries, starting at the Orange County History Centre in Orlando, Florida. From January through March 2006 it was on display at the San Francisco Public Library with the first 30 feet unrolled. It will spend three months on display at the New York Public Library in 2007, and in the spring of 2008 will be on view at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

_____

Of course, for those of us who are writers, we can understand, “He tended to write constantly, carrying a notebook with him everywhere.”

And – “At the time of his death in 1969, Kerouac's estate was worth little more than ninety-one dollars, but by 2004 had grown to an estimated $20 million.” Is an inspiration for all of us… In a perverse kind of way.

What none of us wants to emulate is that he died at age 47 from complications of a life of chronic alcoholism.

I had always heard about this quote from Truman Capote and found it in the Wikipedia entry…

“Some believed that at times Kerouac's writing technique did not produce lively or energetic prose. Truman Capote famously said about Kerouac's work,

‘That's not writing, it's typing.’”

Despite such criticism, it should be kept in mind that what Kerouac said about writing and how he wrote are sometimes seen to be separate. According to Carolyn Cassady and other people who knew him he rewrote and rewrote.”

_____

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."
—from On the Road, which demonstrates Kerouac's use of imagery in a beat style.

Writer, born in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. He studied at Columbia University (1940–2), and served in the merchant marine (1942–3) and the navy (1943). Later he studied at the New School for Social Research (1948–9). He lived with his mother in Lowell, held a variety of jobs, and traveled throughout the USA and...

Read Full Biography Article

biography.com/search/article.do?id=9363719

There is another more comprehensive biography over at Wikipedia.

20060522 KDDC Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

May 22^nd, 2006 By Kevin Dayhoff

April was “Alcohol Awareness Month” and I wrote a couple of columns on the subject.

On Wednesday, April 19^th, 2006, my Westminster Eagle column was: “April is for Alcohol Awareness, but issue of underage drinking lives with us daily.” Another link can be found here.

My Winchester Report post for April 25, 2006 was: “Community Leaders take action against underaged drinking .” Another link for that post is here.

For the Winchester Report posting, my Westminster Eagle editor, Jim Joyner, reworked the warning signs box, for which I was very appreciative.

I would think that the prom season is winding down and now many young adults are looking forward to the end of the school year or graduation ceremonies, err – parties.

Again, this brings with it another set of challenges for young adults who may be exposed to alcohol at these parties.

What can be troubling about this cocktail of alcohol and young inexperienced adults, who nevertheless, “know all the answers,” is the fact that a mistake with alcohol can be life altering or worse yet – fatal. When folks are young and think that they are invincible – the danger is even greater.

Pop culture and Hollywood romanticizes alcohol to the point that many young adults are not aware of the unromanticized and unsanitized pitfalls of alcohol abuse.

It does not necessary sink-in when rock stars, hollywood types and artists are all featured in their rock-bio-documentaries of having awkward moments and problems from drug and alcohol abuse.

After-all, young adults are invincible and “it won’t happen to them,”

In my experience, today’s teenagers are wonderful. Fortunately, you can hear this repeated throughout the community often.

From observing the children of our community involved in, for a few examples, scouting, the Children’s Chorus, 4-H and sports; we can confidently look forward to handing over the future leadership of our country to a very capable and responsible generation.

Former Westminster mayor Ken Yowen would sing the praises of today’s youth often in public and it was one of the many leadership attributes that I tried to emulate when I was an elected official.

Now that I have passed the half-century mark, it is asked in many casual conversations, “wouldn’t you like to be younger?” For right now, we’ll overlook that one thing this question means is that some folks think that I am old…

No way.

I grew up in a simpler and far different Carroll County and I would have no interest in trading in my childhood in the Westminster of the 1950s and 60s for all the tea in China. Sure, as a teenager in Carroll County in the 1960s, the community and our world were changing rapidly. There was turmoil. But it was still a wonderful place to grow-up. For example, I actually remember the 1960s.

Today, Carroll County is still a wonderful place to grow-up.

Often, it is fun to ask a teenager, what do you want to be when you grow-up? The answers are encouraging. So often the answers involve wanting to make a difference and contribution and make the world a better place.

With some segments of today’s teenagers, you’ll hear; I want to be an artist, a writer, a rock musician… or even president?

A writer like Dylan Thomas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac or maybe even Edgar Allan Poe? Recently there was a movie about Truman Capote, which sparked much interest in Mr. Capote’s writings and life.

Who wants to be a star musician when they get older? Like the legendary blues singer, Billie Holiday? Steve Clark, the guitarist with Def Leppard? Or John Bonham, the drummer with Led Zeppelin? Who wants to be Roy Buchanan, the legendary guitar virtuoso and blues musician who lived much of his life right down the road in Washington, DC?

Who wants to be the artist, Jackson Pollock. It is reported that Mr. Pollack visited Clyfford Still in New Windsor on several occasions.

How about aspiring to be a famous actor like Errol Flynn or William Holden?

Maybe you want to be president of the United States, like our fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce?

All the folks just mentioned are some of the most talented individuals in our nation’s history. And they all have one thing in common, their lives and careers, (with the exception of Mr. Still,) were cut short because of alcohol poisoning or alcoholism.

The tragedy of their untimely death is only surpassed by the loss of their talent on the world. Especially in the instances of alcohol poisoning, the death was avoidable, unpleasant and unplanned. Duh.

Alcohol kills. Like - forever dead.

It only takes one bad experience. One bad day. One bad decision… Parental and interested adult attention to the challenges of teen drinking is critical. Keep prominently in mind, that good kids can make bad decisions and alcohol does not care who it kills or what are the extenuating circumstances.

How often have we heard: “I didn’t know there was going to be alcohol at the party.” Or, “I was only going to try a drink or two.” “I was only about a mile from home… I was late and I thought that I could drive that far without a problem.”

Recently there have been deaths at the hands of alcohol that have alarmed the community. This is not a problem “somewhere else.” It is here in Carroll County. “It” can happen to your child, your friend, your sister or brother. The responsibility to prevent a tragedy is no-one’s but yours. You. Me. Everybody’s.

In an article by Westminster Eagle writer, Heidi Schroeder on November 2, 2005, “Survey offers warning in teen trends,” in a December 2004 survey it was revealed; “46.9 percent of Carroll County seniors … said they had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

“Statewide, 38.5 percent of seniors had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

Mark Yount, substance abuse prevention coordinator for Carroll County, said that data is consistent with some of the trends they are seeing at Junction, the county's substance abuse treatment facility.

"Data will tell you one thing, but by the time you get the data things are already happening," Yount said.

Two significant trends in the survey that Yount said is reflected in the young people coming through Junction is alcohol and narcotic abuse.

Yount noted that culturally, alcohol is often separated from drugs in the mind of the community. But he warned, "Alcohol is not a benign substance.

"There is no safe level of alcohol for teens," Yount said.

Now, one cannot imagine that a teenager gets up in the morning and says to themselves, I have plans next week or this summer but this evening I am going to get together with some good friends, get wasted and die.

Heck, even if you don’t die from that one bad experience with alcohol, who wants to get together with friends next week or this summer and re-live drinking to the point where you vomit all over your friends all evening. Now isn’t that a special experience.

One of my favorite musicians was “chicken pickin,” blues, slide guitarist, Roy Buchanan – and his 1953 Telecaster guitar, named “Nancy.” Although he was born September 23, 1939 in California, he settled down in the Washington, DC area in the mid-1960s. He was living in Reston, Virginia when he passed away.

He gained a great deal of attention by way of a PBS documentary in the early 1970s called, “The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World.” He played a lot of the clubs in the DC area, often with “The Snakestretchers.” He toured nationally and internationally in the 1970s.

He recorded about 18 albums before his death. A number of albums have been released posthumously. Perhaps my favorite is “You’re Not Alone,” released in 1978 on Atlantic records.

Mr. Buchanan would be still greatly contributing to the music world if he had not had alcohol and substance abuse problems throughout most of his adult life. Apparently, untreated, the problems only got worse and certainly were not helpful in his marriage with his wife, Judy.

On August 13^th, 1988, Mr. Buchanan got into another domestic dispute, after according to the Web-site, “Sweet Dreams of Roy Buchanan,” he came home “from the local bar with some male person, who then along with Roy acted up, so Judy threw them out, then called the cops. The cops picked up Roy and, the county sheriff tells Jim Buchanan, he was jovial when locked up. Sheriff says they didn't even arrest and book him and told him to sleep it off. A routine check supposedly found Roy hanging from his shirt in the cell…”

On August 14^th, 1988, Roy Buchanan, perhaps one of the greatest guitar players ever, died in a police cell.

Next time, you have plans to go out and get wasted, pull out a couple Led Zeppelin CDs and play the "Immigrant Song" from “Led Zeppelin III;” "When the Levee Breaks" from “Led Zeppelin IV,” "Kashmir" or "Misty Mountain Hop."

These are the Led Zeppelin tunes that especially feature the talent of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham.

As you crank it up, keep in mind, John Bonham died on September 25, 1980.

According to numerous published accounts, (I have used Wikipedia’s account because it was convenient and matched some old notes,) Led Zeppelin was rehearsing for the band’s upcoming U.S. tour when John Bonham passed away.

On the way to the recording studio, Mr. Bonham had a breakfast of about sixteen shots of vodka. “He then continued to drink when he arrived at the studio.” That evening, it “was rumored that he had a total of forty shots…” before he was taken to bed.

The next morning, at the age of 32, he was found dead. “The cause of death was asphyxiation caused by choking on his own vomit. A subsequent coroner inquest found no other drugs in Bonham's body.”

Bummer. Just think, this could be you.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060522 KDDC Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenager

20060522 KDDC Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

May 22^nd, 2006 By Kevin Dayhoff

April was “Alcohol Awareness Month” and I wrote a couple of columns on the subject.

On Wednesday, April 19^th, 2006, my Westminster Eagle column was: “April is for Alcohol Awareness, but issue of underage drinking lives with us daily.” Another link can be found here.

My Winchester Report post for April 25, 2006 was: “Community Leaders take action against underaged drinking .” Another link for that post is here.

For the Winchester Report posting, my Westminster Eagle editor, Jim Joyner, reworked the warning signs box, for which I was very appreciative.

I would think that the prom season is winding down and now many young adults are looking forward to the end of the school year or graduation ceremonies, err – parties.

Again, this brings with it another set of challenges for young adults who may be exposed to alcohol at these parties.

What can be troubling about this cocktail of alcohol and young inexperienced adults, who nevertheless, “know all the answers,” is the fact that a mistake with alcohol can be life altering or worse yet – fatal. When folks are young and think that they are invincible – the danger is even greater.

Pop culture and Hollywood romanticizes alcohol to the point that many young adults are not aware of the unromanticized and unsanitized pitfalls of alcohol abuse.

It does not necessary sink-in when rock stars, hollywood types and artists are all featured in their rock-bio-documentaries of having awkward moments and problems from drug and alcohol abuse.

After-all, young adults are invincible and “it won’t happen to them,”

In my experience, today’s teenagers are wonderful. Fortunately, you can hear this repeated throughout the community often.

From observing the children of our community involved in, for a few examples, scouting, the Children’s Chorus, 4-H and sports; we can confidently look forward to handing over the future leadership of our country to a very capable and responsible generation.

Former Westminster mayor Ken Yowen would sing the praises of today’s youth often in public and it was one of the many leadership attributes that I tried to emulate when I was an elected official.

Now that I have passed the half-century mark, it is asked in many casual conversations, “wouldn’t you like to be younger?” For right now, we’ll overlook that one thing this question means is that some folks think that I am old…

No way.

I grew up in a simpler and far different Carroll County and I would have no interest in trading in my childhood in the Westminster of the 1950s and 60s for all the tea in China. Sure, as a teenager in Carroll County in the 1960s, the community and our world were changing rapidly. There was turmoil. But it was still a wonderful place to grow-up. For example, I actually remember the 1960s.

Today, Carroll County is still a wonderful place to grow-up.

Often, it is fun to ask a teenager, what do you want to be when you grow-up? The answers are encouraging. So often the answers involve wanting to make a difference and contribution and make the world a better place.

With some segments of today’s teenagers, you’ll hear; I want to be an artist, a writer, a rock musician… or even president?

A writer like Dylan Thomas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac or maybe even Edgar Allan Poe? Recently there was a movie about Truman Capote, which sparked much interest in Mr. Capote’s writings and life.

Who wants to be a star musician when they get older? Like the legendary blues singer, Billie Holiday? Steve Clark, the guitarist with Def Leppard? Or John Bonham, the drummer with Led Zeppelin? Who wants to be Roy Buchanan, the legendary guitar virtuoso and blues musician who lived much of his life right down the road in Washington, DC?

Who wants to be the artist, Jackson Pollock. It is reported that Mr. Pollack visited Clyfford Still in New Windsor on several occasions.

How about aspiring to be a famous actor like Errol Flynn or William Holden?

Maybe you want to be president of the United States, like our fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce?

All the folks just mentioned are some of the most talented individuals in our nation’s history. And they all have one thing in common, their lives and careers, (with the exception of Mr. Still,) were cut short because of alcohol poisoning or alcoholism.

The tragedy of their untimely death is only surpassed by the loss of their talent on the world. Especially in the instances of alcohol poisoning, the death was avoidable, unpleasant and unplanned. Duh.

Alcohol kills. Like - forever dead.

It only takes one bad experience. One bad day. One bad decision… Parental and interested adult attention to the challenges of teen drinking is critical. Keep prominently in mind, that good kids can make bad decisions and alcohol does not care who it kills or what are the extenuating circumstances.

How often have we heard: “I didn’t know there was going to be alcohol at the party.” Or, “I was only going to try a drink or two.” “I was only about a mile from home… I was late and I thought that I could drive that far without a problem.”

Recently there have been deaths at the hands of alcohol that have alarmed the community. This is not a problem “somewhere else.” It is here in Carroll County. “It” can happen to your child, your friend, your sister or brother. The responsibility to prevent a tragedy is no-one’s but yours. You. Me. Everybody’s.

In an article by Westminster Eagle writer, Heidi Schroeder on November 2, 2005, “Survey offers warning in teen trends,” in a December 2004 survey it was revealed; “46.9 percent of Carroll County seniors … said they had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

“Statewide, 38.5 percent of seniors had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

Mark Yount, substance abuse prevention coordinator for Carroll County, said that data is consistent with some of the trends they are seeing at Junction, the county's substance abuse treatment facility.

"Data will tell you one thing, but by the time you get the data things are already happening," Yount said.

Two significant trends in the survey that Yount said is reflected in the young people coming through Junction is alcohol and narcotic abuse.

Yount noted that culturally, alcohol is often separated from drugs in the mind of the community. But he warned, "Alcohol is not a benign substance.

"There is no safe level of alcohol for teens," Yount said.

Now, one cannot imagine that a teenager gets up in the morning and says to themselves, I have plans next week or this summer but this evening I am going to get together with some good friends, get wasted and die.

Heck, even if you don’t die from that one bad experience with alcohol, who wants to get together with friends next week or this summer and re-live drinking to the point where you vomit all over your friends all evening. Now isn’t that a special experience.

One of my favorite musicians was “chicken pickin,” blues, slide guitarist, Roy Buchanan – and his 1953 Telecaster guitar, named “Nancy.” Although he was born September 23, 1939 in California, he settled down in the Washington, DC area in the mid-1960s. He was living in Reston, Virginia when he passed away.

He gained a great deal of attention by way of a PBS documentary in the early 1970s called, “The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World.” He played a lot of the clubs in the DC area, often with “The Snakestretchers.” He toured nationally and internationally in the 1970s.

He recorded about 18 albums before his death. A number of albums have been released posthumously. Perhaps my favorite is “You’re Not Alone,” released in 1978 on Atlantic records.

Mr. Buchanan would be still greatly contributing to the music world if he had not had alcohol and substance abuse problems throughout most of his adult life. Apparently, untreated, the problems only got worse and certainly were not helpful in his marriage with his wife, Judy.

On August 13^th, 1988, Mr. Buchanan got into another domestic dispute, after according to the Web-site, “Sweet Dreams of Roy Buchanan,” he came home “from the local bar with some male person, who then along with Roy acted up, so Judy threw them out, then called the cops. The cops picked up Roy and, the county sheriff tells Jim Buchanan, he was jovial when locked up. Sheriff says they didn't even arrest and book him and told him to sleep it off. A routine check supposedly found Roy hanging from his shirt in the cell…”

On August 14^th, 1988, Roy Buchanan, perhaps one of the greatest guitar players ever, died in a police cell.

Next time, you have plans to go out and get wasted, pull out a couple Led Zeppelin CDs and play the "Immigrant Song" from “Led Zeppelin III;” "When the Levee Breaks" from “Led Zeppelin IV,” "Kashmir" or "Misty Mountain Hop."

These are the Led Zeppelin tunes that especially feature the talent of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham.

As you crank it up, keep in mind, John Bonham died on September 25, 1980.

According to numerous published accounts, (I have used Wikipedia’s account because it was convenient and matched some old notes,) Led Zeppelin was rehearsing for the band’s upcoming U.S. tour when John Bonham passed away.

On the way to the recording studio, Mr. Bonham had a breakfast of about sixteen shots of vodka. “He then continued to drink when he arrived at the studio.” That evening, it “was rumored that he had a total of forty shots…” before he was taken to bed.

The next morning, at the age of 32, he was found dead. “The cause of death was asphyxiation caused by choking on his own vomit. A subsequent coroner inquest found no other drugs in Bonham's body.”

Bummer. Just think, this could be you.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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posted by Kevin Dayhoff @ 3:15 AM

20060522 KDDC Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenager

NBH