Johnny Cash and I just finished a cross-country roadtrip. I did all the driving, but he provided the entertainment. For me, his music is the soundtrack of the road. My favorite disc of his, The Legend of Johnny Cash, is on constant rotation in my CD player.
The trip from California to Florida lasted 13 days and took me through the Mojave Desert, to the Grand Canyon, across New Mexico, to music-land Austin, and finally over the bayous and swamps of Cajun country. I pounded my steering wheel in time with “Big River” and sang along with Johnny and June on “Jackson”–we harmonized quite well. In Gallup, NM, I got the flu. Day three of the flu was a Sunday morning, and I felt kinship with Cash on “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” I too couldn’t find a way to hold my head that didn’t hurt and generally wished that I was stoned. By the time I was leaving Texas, my health had improved, and I smiled as I smelled that southern air and felt that southern breeze. Two days later, I pulled into my parents’ driveway on the east coast of Florida, very happy to be returning home. Feels like I’ve been everywhere, man. If you’re getting ready to go everywhere, make sure the Man in Black rides along.