A tribute - January 16, 2014

As published in the White River Current - Thursday January 16, 2014

 

There is an old fiddle tune known as “The Eighth of January.”  When I was much younger, I used to join with some other foot-stompers at the Legion Hut for an old-fashioned square dance.  A small band of local musicians would accompany us with some hoe-down selections, such as TEOJ, as we bounced around the floor to the instructions of the caller.  A favorite dance was The Texas Star:  “Ladies to the center with their backs to the bar; gents to the center and form a star” he shouted as we huffed and puffed through the set.  Years later, a school teacher from Timbo, Arkansas, added words to the old fiddle tune to help his history class learn about the last great battle of the War of 1812.  His song was recorded by country star, Johnny Horton, and made James Morris (Jimmy Driftwood) famous and, probably, very wealthy.  The name of the song was, of course, “The Battle of New Orleans” and recounted, in verse, the battle that occurred on January 8, 1815.  For you history buffs, Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 (he would have been 79).  These things rattle around in my memory on January 8th every year.  But one thing I will never forget.  A very good friend died on that date last week.  He was only 65.  Tom Johns was my mentor.  His column, “Tom’s Tenoring,” appeared in this publication on alternate weeks with the “Ramblings” until he became ill a few weeks ago.  He died of lung cancer and, yes, he was a cigarette smoker.  I first met Tom in 1976 a few weeks after he married Fredericka, a local girl.  They were both working in summer stock, musical theaters in the northeast, when they fell in love.  A short time after the ceremony, Tom travelled to Trier, Germany, to join his brother, Dick, in the opera company.  Anita and I, with friends Don and Maxine, were vacationing in Germany and had dinner with Tom and Dick before continuing our trip, leaving the day before Fredericka arrived.  The couple remained in Germany for 35 years while Tom sang tenor in the Trier and, later, the Munich opera companies.  Tom began his writing while residing in Germany.  He had a great sense of humor and would send e-mails of various lengths that would contain stories about farmer Brown and his cows or about the stealing of the Maypole.  I think Tom saved all these writings on his computer and I hope that Fredericka will share some of them in this newspaper  Tom and  Fredericka retired a couple of years ago and moved back to Calico Rock where they soon became well recognized citizens of the community, volunteering their talents in many ways.  Tom’s passing is a great loss to us all.  Here is a question for you:  What do the names Chesterfield, Phillip Morris, Old Gold, Raleigh, Lucky Strike and Camel have in common?  Answer:  They are all names of cigarettes that were for sale back in the 30’s. (Did you know that Ronald Reagan was the spokesperson for Chesterfield cigarettes on TV before going into politics?)  Last week  marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Surgeon General’s report on the dangers of smoking tobacco products, especially cigarettes.  Every pack of cigarettes now contains the warning, “Smoking causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and may complicate Pregnancy.”  I’ll write more about this in my next column, but when Sidney and I were young boys, we decided to start smoking, because it was the thing to do.  Both our dads and my granddad smoked.  We started trying to smoke grapevines, then rabbit tobacco.  Finally I invested a nickel (maybe a dime) on a sack of Bull Durham tobacco.  Sidney had watched his dad “roll his own” and we smoked until we both got sick.  Later, in high school, I became addicted, probably because of peer pressure.  I am forever grateful that I came to my senses and ended this terrible habit.  I count my stopping smoking as the greatest gift that I have ever given to my family.  I only wish I could have persuaded Tom, George, Roland, Glenn and all the other friends that might still be with us if I could have been more convincing.  I’ll carry this guilt with me the rest of my life.  I read the other day that, even after all the warnings, 18% of the adults in the United States continue to be addicted to this horrible, costly habit.  It cost Calico Rock the loss of a good citizen last week.