24
Aug

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN IT QUAKED?

Written by Don Reid. Posted in General

 

Yesterday we had a big earthquake here in Virginia.  Somewhat unusual for this area.  We east coast folks aren’t accustomed to that kind of thing, but we survived it.  Nobody was hurt, no buildings were damaged and no small children were frightened out of their wits.  But I’ll tell you what did happen.  It gave everyone in the area a good story to tell.  Everyone you saw asked, “Did you feel that shakin’?”  And then they’d add, “Where were you when it happened?”

Now I discovered real quick that they didn’t really care where you were or what you were doing when ole Mother Nature shook out her laundry, but the question was merely an opening so they could tell you where they were and what they were doing.  Some were scared; some were confused; some ran; some grabbed a loved one; but the one thing they all seemed to have in common was – they all enjoyed the adventure.

There was some damage in Washington D.C. just 150 miles up the road.  The top of the Washington Monument cracked and some dust fell off the National Cathedral.  Some closer to the epicenter, about 65 miles east of us, lost power, but all in all it was not a serious moment here in the Shenandoah Valley. 

I experienced one little quake years ago in San Bernardino, California.  I was in my hotel room one afternoon before a show, sitting in a chair reading a book.  I felt the whole room begin to shake.  I remember standing up and going to the window (not sure why) and in no time it was over.  This one wasn’t much different.  I was again sitting in a chair reading a book (does this guy never do anything else?) and I felt the house shake the way someone might grab an apple tree to shake the apples to the ground.  I stood up, my dog Chipper stood with me, and the thought that it was all coming from the basement suddenly filled my mind.  Gas pipes ready to blow?  The shaking got worse so we, Chipper and I, went to the interior basement door, ready to find out what was going on down there.  No!  Wait!  That’s no place to be if this stone house implodes.  Let’s go outside.  And by the time we reached the driveway, it was over.  Twenty to thirty seconds tops. 

The phone started ringing, the texts started coming and emails flooded in from all over the country.  Folks were concerned if everyone was alright.  And I thank everyone who asked.  All are well and no damage has been spotted. The big story now?  When is that aftershock coming and where will you be when it happens?

                                                      -DSR  August 24, 2011      1:15pm

07
Aug

END OF AN ERA

Written by Don Reid. Posted in General

 

Marshall Grant died today.  He was 83 in years but twice that much in wisdom and experience.

We got to know M.G., as he affectionately became known to us, on our first date with the Johnny Cash troupe, March 8, 1964 –Canton, Ohio.  And it didn’t take more than the first night for us to see who was truly in charge.  Marshall, an original of John’s Tennessee Two, played the bass on stage but off stage, he ran the show.  He booked the hotels and airplanes.  He made sure the shows started and ended on time.  He took care of all the little and big problems that arose in a tour whether it was ten days long or three weeks long.  Marshall was the Majordomo; the General; the go-to-guy.  And when we left the troupe eight and a half years later to start our own organization, we lamented many times that we would only be complete when we found ‘our Marshall’. 

We never did.  Not until another decade had passed and Marshall and John had some problems that couldn’t be solved and they parted ways.  Having kept our friendship alive with both, we went by Marshall’s house in Mississippi and picked him up and took him on a few tours with us just to renew old times.  In no time at all, he went to work for us.  He became our agent; our road manager; our closest confidant.  We finally had ‘our Marshall’.

He set all our dates and traveled every mile with us on the bus and in the air.  When we signed on to do the TV series in the 90s on TNN, he co-produced the shows with us and he was the guy who stood in front of us in all our dealings and the one everyone had to answer to.  He gave us  room for creativity while he watched over the facts and figures.  We trusted him like he was blood kin. That relationship lasted for 20 years until we decided to hang it up in 2002.  Marshall hung it up, too.

He was first a friend – the best.

He showed us the ropes in the early days.

He was like a big brother who never let you out of his sight.

To say I/we will miss him is a gross understatement.

I feel something inside me has taken flight today that I’ll never feel again.

I could tell a thousand stories here, but I don’t have the heart for it today.  Maybe another time.

I loved him dearly.

          DR

                      -Sunday August 7, 2011   – 6:15pm