Posted on 11.09.2020
More Memories and a Current Events Thought - Soapbox Jr.
“The first things I remember are frosty Carolina mornings with a cheery fire crackling in my momma’s big black wood cookstove.
I remember snowflakes as big as goose feathers and a moon the color of new-made country butter and a night sky like diamonds against black velvet reaching from horizon to horizon.” – Charlie Daniels 1980
My first memories aren’t quite as vivid and I won’t be able to paint them as poetically as dad could, but I will try to paint as clear a picture as I can.
My first memories are of playing with blocks in the house on Knobdale Rd in Donelson that mom and dad rented from dad’s friend, co-writer and mentor, Bob Johnston.
I remember it being broken into once.
I also remember playing extensively in the front yard and back yard. Being an only child, I had to have a pretty good imagination, which could have meant being an astronaut or a cowboy - maybe both at the same time - so I guess I would have been like Andy from 'Toy Story' and played with both Buzz and Woody if they had been around when I was growing up.
I remember when dad decided it was time to take the training wheels off my bike, and I got on as dad pointed me on the sloping hill from the road towards the house, and the idea was that I needed to be able to balance and ride before I got to the house. I never did run into the house, but I did fall over to the side on the bike several times before I finally and proudly figured out the balance in my head and pedaled on my way.
Dad worked hard for mom and me.
One time, mom got concerned about money coming in to cover bills and asked dad how we were going to do. Dad told her, “Just let the fat boy worry about it.”
And one Christmas, before he had any real level of success, he worked jam sessions to be able to afford two toy trains for me and a green bowling ball with glitter in it for mom.
He always provided and was extremely generous.
I might have been 4 when dad had a spill on a motorcycle in the back yard with me on it. We were riding in the back yard, and I was riding in front of dad on the gas tank of the motorcycle, and holding onto the handlebars. I’m sure this would be condemned these days, but we were just tooling around in the back yard for fun.
It had rained the day before, and under some trees the yard was a little muddy. Dad hit a slick spot and went sliding into a tree. I was thrown from the motorcycle, but unhurt. I think I remember feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me, but I was okay, just a little shaken.
Dad’s knee had hit the tree though, and he was in some pain, and couldn’t walk. He instructed me to go tell mom to come outside, but not to tell her what had happened, because he didn’t want her to be upset.
I told her what he said, and she said that she was making dinner and couldn’t come out. Mind you, I’m a child, and not sure how to proceed with trying to convince her to come out. So I went back outside and told dad what she said, I can’t remember if I had to go back in more than twice, but he did tell me to tell her that he needed her to come outside NOW.
Dad healed up, but he did have knee problems later in life, which led to him having arthroscopic surgery on his knees and eventual total knee replacement on both knees.
It had gotten so bad that when we were in Beijing in 2006 and went to the Great Wall, he had difficulty going up the stairs to the wall. Flat surfaces didn’t bother him, but the going up and down the stairs was getting painful for him.
After he had fully recovered from the knee replacement surgery, he had said that he wished he had done it years ago, since it alleviated his pain so much, but he was a hard guy to slow down, even if dealing with some discomfort.
I want to apologize for the randomness and somewhat disjointed nature of this soapbox.
Last week was hectic, distracting and stressful for obvious reasons.
Many people have posted on social media have been stating that they were glad that dad wasn’t having to deal with the stress of this election which has seemingly been counting mail-in ballots since the Eisenhower administration, with no end in sight.
Others have wondered what he would have to say about the whole situation.
If I know my dad, I think it would probably be something like this:
Be patient. Let the process play out, and nothing has been decided yet, despite what the media – who does not decide who our president is – has to say about it. It’s not over yet.
I think he would also add that no matter what happens, God is still on His throne, and we trust that He has a plan, even if we don’t understand it.
And he would be right.
What do you think?
Pray for our troops, our police, the peace of Jerusalem and our country.
God Bless America!
— Charlie Daniels, Jr.
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