Random Notes from a Crank

The other day I met our new neighbor who moved in across the street. Their family moved to East Central Illinois from Baltimore. And not the suburbs mind you, the city of Baltimore. My neighbor related that she was having a hard time adjusting to our neighborhood being so quiet because they lived in the city where it's noisy all the time. Her kids have also found that they can play on our street instead of only being able to go to public parks out of safety concerns. Later that night I read "Where Are You From?", which was reprinted in Utne. The new neighbor had asked if I'm originally from the town where I now live. However, my answer was that I'm from "Waterloo, Iowa, a city in northern Iowa." I've lived in a number of different places, but I'll always be an Iowan.  

Regardless, these words from Willis seem pertinent: "If we bring ourselves to attend to the place we inhabit now, we can at least say 'I am here,' and treat that hereness with particular humility and alertness to cues we might not otherwise recognize." 

And speaking of the importance of place, this week in a bout of nostalgia, I posted on Facebook about remembering tunes on the jukebox at The Flamingo in Kirksville, MO, a fine establishment some of my readers spent a lot of time at. Or maybe not - I don't remember. 

The post, as I expected, garnered its fair share of replies, with my friends relating their favorite tunes from the tavern. I thought I'd share the ones people posted and ones I remember, some of which I downloaded recently. I could make a mixed tape or something. Here are notable tunes from The Flamingo's jukebox:

• "The Stroke," Clarence Carter
• "The Rodeo Song," Garry Lee
• "John Deere Green," Joe Diffie
• "Crazy," Patsy Cline
• "Convoy," C.W. McCall
• "Ring of Fire," Johnny Cash
• "If That Ain't Country," David Allan Coe
• "Suspicious Minds," Dwight Yoakam
• "Trashy Women," Confederate Railroad