“I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read.”

I once saw Johnny sing with June Carter at the church his parents once attended in Meiners Oaks--outside of Ojai, California. He had returned for a revival in the mid-1970s.

Saw him again at a funeral in Bakersfield on the side of a hill. Toni might correct me on that. In the spirit of Harold & Maude, we had crashed the event that hot summer day to catch site of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. 

And Happy Birthday to my Uncle Larry who turns 80 today. He's now old enough to run for president.

That's Larry in 2006 with his favorite sister-in-law, Elta.