Tondeleo: I've been writing from my notes and recordings about the immense creativity and the drive for self expression in even the poorest and the most uneducated people. In the rural areas of America, at least the ones that I have been to, there seems to be no limit to these traits.
If I was poverty stricken, I would try to not attract attention to myself. But for these rural Americans, it seems that the poorer they are, the more need there is for self expression. They seem to have a need to say, "HEY! Look at ME! I may be poor, but I am SOMEBODY!"
One example of this is the Ford pickup truck that belongs to Doc's friend, Big Dave. Dave hasn't had it registered or insured for about two years now. Something happened somewhere that caused him to park it in his garden for a while. Neither he nor Doc feel that it is important enough to talk about, and when I pulled Marilyn aside to ask about it, she says it is something that we don't talk about. It just "is" for now.
I asked Big Dave what year it is, and he says that it's a couple of different years. "It doesn't matter."
I ask about the modifications he's made on it and whatever else he can tell me about it. Here is what he said:
Big Dave: I'm not drivin' it right now and it makes me feel bad, you know? It's sittin' there wastin' under a tree when it ought to be drived.
Well, it's a 4X4. Got 4 wheel drive. That means it's good for drivin' in the woods and in mud and snow without gettin' stuck. I got 31" tires on it. I lifted it up like 3 inches, to make it a little taller. When I go deer huntin' I can take the truck out there, so I'm not walkin' and draggin' the deer around through the woods. Especially if I get two or three of deer.
Tondeleo: I notice that it doesn't have a grille. And, you've painted what was behind the grille silver. Does that mean you're not going to get a new grille for it, Big Dave?
Big Dave: Yeah, my truck lost his front teeth in a fight with a white oak tree!
I couldn't find a grille that was any good, so I took some of that mesh that you use in front of a fireplace and put it in there to protect the radiator - that's all a grille does anyway, and then painted it all silver... (laughs) it looks like I at least know he ain't got no teeth anymore!
I painted the shiny metal around the headlights black, and I painted the bumper black because I had some black spray cans and didn't have anything better to do. So I painted stuff.
Tondeleo: What else can you tell me about your truck, Big Dave? Remember, I don't know much about these things, and people who read my blog may not know very much about them...
Big Dave: What else? Uhhh, I got a cap on the back. I tried paintin' it cammo by sprayin' around leaves here an' there. It didn't come out too good.
I can sleep in there if I'm out deer huntin' or duck huntin' over the weekend or anytime, really. If I got my tools in the back, the cap keeps the rain off of them. Keeps people from just reachin' in my truck and stealing my stuff. Havin' a cap on the back's a good thing...
I could clean it out back there and have a date back there.
Marilyn: YUCK! You're so GROSS, Big Dave. NO self respectin' woman would get in the back of your old truck!
Big Dave: Well, I don't always go for the self respectin' type...
Tondeleo: I notice that you have painted the back half of your truck black. Was that because you were bored, also?
Big Dave: I painted the back part of it black because I'd had a wreck into another tree.
Tondeleo: Your license plate says Dog Man. Does that have a meaning?
Big Dave: Yeah. I'm a dog man.
Doc: Yeah, he's a dog man, all right.
Marilyn: Big Dave really IS a dog man, Tondy.
Tondeleo: OK, I think I get it... you're a dog man, and it says it on your license plate...
Marilyn: Well, he loves his dog Bulkley more than anyone on the whole earth, Tondy. Bulkley is head of the pack, fifteen years runnin.
Big Dave: Yeah, ain't nobody better n' Bulkley. Well Christine is, but she's Asian.
Tondeleo: ... uh, ok... I think I get it... so, what is the meaning of the four horseshoes on the front of your truck, on the front of the bonnet?
Big Dave: My truck ain't got a bonnet, first off. It ain't a woman. A car ain't got a bonnet either. It's a hood. The meaning of the horseshoes on the front? It means good luck. You oughta know that, boy. But it means somethin' else, too. Somethin' people gotta figure out. But I'll tell you; I don't want you sittin' here all night. It means what might be good luck for me ain't good luck for someone else.
Tondeleo: Like what?
Doc: Like for the HORSE! That's a lesson right there, good luck for one is bad luck for another. People can look at the front Big Dave's truck and get a life lesson, if they're thinking while they're looking.
Tondeleo: How about the donkey that is also on the front? Does that mean anything, Big Dave?
Big Dave: Uh, well, yeah it's got a meaning...
Doc gave me that a long time ago. That's the third or fourth truck it's been on. It's outlasted every truck I've had and two women. That donkey, well, he's got a big grin on his face. He's happy. He's sittin' down on the job. He ain't workin' and he ain't doing anything and he ain't goin' nowhere. He'll get up when and if he's a good and ready. That donkey is me, Tondy.
Doc: It SURE is.That donkey is definitely Big Dave!
If I was poverty stricken, I would try to not attract attention to myself. But for these rural Americans, it seems that the poorer they are, the more need there is for self expression. They seem to have a need to say, "HEY! Look at ME! I may be poor, but I am SOMEBODY!"
One example of this is the Ford pickup truck that belongs to Doc's friend, Big Dave. Dave hasn't had it registered or insured for about two years now. Something happened somewhere that caused him to park it in his garden for a while. Neither he nor Doc feel that it is important enough to talk about, and when I pulled Marilyn aside to ask about it, she says it is something that we don't talk about. It just "is" for now.
I asked Big Dave what year it is, and he says that it's a couple of different years. "It doesn't matter."
I ask about the modifications he's made on it and whatever else he can tell me about it. Here is what he said:
Big Dave: I'm not drivin' it right now and it makes me feel bad, you know? It's sittin' there wastin' under a tree when it ought to be drived.
Well, it's a 4X4. Got 4 wheel drive. That means it's good for drivin' in the woods and in mud and snow without gettin' stuck. I got 31" tires on it. I lifted it up like 3 inches, to make it a little taller. When I go deer huntin' I can take the truck out there, so I'm not walkin' and draggin' the deer around through the woods. Especially if I get two or three of deer.
Tondeleo: I notice that it doesn't have a grille. And, you've painted what was behind the grille silver. Does that mean you're not going to get a new grille for it, Big Dave?
Big Dave: Yeah, my truck lost his front teeth in a fight with a white oak tree! I couldn't find a grille that was any good, so I took some of that mesh that you use in front of a fireplace and put it in there to protect the radiator - that's all a grille does anyway, and then painted it all silver... (laughs) it looks like I at least know he ain't got no teeth anymore!
I painted the shiny metal around the headlights black, and I painted the bumper black because I had some black spray cans and didn't have anything better to do. So I painted stuff.
Tondeleo: What else can you tell me about your truck, Big Dave? Remember, I don't know much about these things, and people who read my blog may not know very much about them...
Big Dave: What else? Uhhh, I got a cap on the back. I tried paintin' it cammo by sprayin' around leaves here an' there. It didn't come out too good.
I can sleep in there if I'm out deer huntin' or duck huntin' over the weekend or anytime, really. If I got my tools in the back, the cap keeps the rain off of them. Keeps people from just reachin' in my truck and stealing my stuff. Havin' a cap on the back's a good thing...
I could clean it out back there and have a date back there.
Marilyn: YUCK! You're so GROSS, Big Dave. NO self respectin' woman would get in the back of your old truck!
Big Dave: Well, I don't always go for the self respectin' type...
Tondeleo: I notice that you have painted the back half of your truck black. Was that because you were bored, also?
Big Dave: I painted the back part of it black because I'd had a wreck into another tree.
Tondeleo: Your license plate says Dog Man. Does that have a meaning?Big Dave: Yeah. I'm a dog man.
Doc: Yeah, he's a dog man, all right.
Marilyn: Big Dave really IS a dog man, Tondy.
Tondeleo: OK, I think I get it... you're a dog man, and it says it on your license plate...
Marilyn: Well, he loves his dog Bulkley more than anyone on the whole earth, Tondy. Bulkley is head of the pack, fifteen years runnin.
Big Dave: Yeah, ain't nobody better n' Bulkley. Well Christine is, but she's Asian.
Tondeleo: ... uh, ok... I think I get it... so, what is the meaning of the four horseshoes on the front of your truck, on the front of the bonnet?
Big Dave: My truck ain't got a bonnet, first off. It ain't a woman. A car ain't got a bonnet either. It's a hood. The meaning of the horseshoes on the front? It means good luck. You oughta know that, boy. But it means somethin' else, too. Somethin' people gotta figure out. But I'll tell you; I don't want you sittin' here all night. It means what might be good luck for me ain't good luck for someone else.
Tondeleo: Like what?
Doc: Like for the HORSE! That's a lesson right there, good luck for one is bad luck for another. People can look at the front Big Dave's truck and get a life lesson, if they're thinking while they're looking.
Tondeleo: How about the donkey that is also on the front? Does that mean anything, Big Dave?
Doc gave me that a long time ago. That's the third or fourth truck it's been on. It's outlasted every truck I've had and two women. That donkey, well, he's got a big grin on his face. He's happy. He's sittin' down on the job. He ain't workin' and he ain't doing anything and he ain't goin' nowhere. He'll get up when and if he's a good and ready. That donkey is me, Tondy.
Doc: It SURE is.That donkey is definitely Big Dave!
