Doc Stevens

Most of the time, it seems like Doc and his friends are too busy trying to survive to take much interest in the broader world around them. This trip had surprises for me in that I found evidence of him and some of his friends taking notice of the world beyond their friends, jobs, music and families.

Doc found an old Washington Post magazine at the Bryans Road library. Columnist Gene Weingarten wrote an article about not being able to find jeans in his size, which just happens to be the exact size that Doc wears and can't find.

Apparently the clothing companies have found it easier to make fewer sizes of inseams. Doc wears a 31. He says 30’s are too short and 32’are too long. Sometimes he wears the 30’s lower non his hips to make them look right. But he doesn’t like the way they feel.

Marilyn had read the article to Doc and then he stumbled through it, and was moved to send an "e-letter" to Mr. Weingarten to help him out. Marilyn bcc'd it to me. Here it is, so you can sense the vast social consciousness that is developing in Doc.

weingarten@washpost.com

Dear Mr Gene.

We was at the liberry over to Bryans Road and my neice Marilyn read to me your article about blue jeans not fitting good anymore. You are right. I am like you, but am a bit bigger at 200 pounds. I wear 34X31 jeans too. So we are maybe put together a bit different but the same size waste and legs. The same part of me and you is 34X31 and they do not make them any more. I play music , blues and country blues at festivles and fairs and BBQs and I travel all over the place doing it and one thing I can tell you is this.

If you find 34X31s you are not finding them brand new. You are finding them used and I don't go for some of those used jeans if you know what I mean, by the time some folks is done with them.   

In August I was coming back home from playing in SC and I stopped in NC at JRs big outlet there on 95 where they sell a lot of evrey thing except 34x31 which they did not have but they had like what you said, 30s and 32s which is either high waters or sissy looking.

I had almost lost haert but Marilyn took me over to that other store which sold carhartt ones. They is labled the same way without 31s but they is cut long so the 30s is really a 31 and fit good. I bought some at that outlet there and when we got back here to Nanjemoy I carried Marilyn up to the library in Bryans Road and she bought me 4 more prs of them on that ebay on the interweb. They was used but in good shape like just broke in good but not dirty or staned up.

Now I have 5 prs of jeans that fit good and they are just regular jeans color, blue. I wear crapenters jeans with loops and the extra pockets I need. They could be what you are looking for since Levis don't care about the little man any more unless he is way too little. Carhartt is the ones for men like you and me.  Your friend  Doc Stevens

I never thought I would live to see Doc so moved as to contact a perfect stranger try to help. Maybe he is finally getting a world view that is bigger than panelbeating and playing guitar and eating BBQ. But I doubt it.

- Tondeleo

Tondeleo: Most rural Americans have been stereotyped as being lifelong NASCAR racing fans. Lately I have heard Doc and his friends grumbling about why they don’t follow NASCAR racing anymore. Most of it is beyond my comprehension, but I recorded parts of Doc and Big Dave discussing their disenchantment with NASCAR racing.

Doc: Well, most of the problem with NASCAR started a long time ago, Tondy. NASCAR stands for something like National Stock Car Racing…

Big Dave: Actually, it’s the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing…

Doc: The point is that it started off as STOCK car racing, meaning that they was basically racing cars that you could by from the car dealer. Lookit this picture from 1960 NASCAR Daytona race! It is a CHEVY! Got a bumper, a grill, and they just lightened it up a bit.

It was Fords, Chevies and Plymouths and Pontiacs and Chryslers and all that, and you could buy cars like them at the dealer.

What got it popular was, if you was a Chevy man and your buddy was a Ford man, you could go to the race and see which one held up the best, and you could see how they ran when they was drived by the best drivers. If a Ford won the race on Sunday, then sales of Fords went up on Monday. True fact.

That’s why the factories and car dealers got involved. So of course, they started changing what they called a stock car. I think back in the 60’s my daddy said that by then a car could be called stock if they made at least 500 of whatever parts it needed to be made.

Big Dave: I remember that. If Junior Johnson or Fireball Roberts won the race, you could go to the Chevy, Pontiac or Ford Dealer and if you had the money, you could order a car fixed up just like theirs. I knew a boy in Kentucky back in the 70’s what had a 1963 Ford factory race car. Name was Mark Robinson. He wasn’t rich, neither. His car had been ordered new from the factory like Fireball Roberts’ car. Had aluminum bumpers, fiberglass front end and trunk lid and small seat inside for the driver and a 427 motor. He drove it on the streets. These were called factory race cars.

Doc. Try goin’ to the Chevy dealer an’ orderin’ a car like whatever Chevy won a NASCAR race lately. It ain’t happenin’ cause they ain’t STOCK cars no more and haven’t been for more n’ 20 years or even more.

When a Chevy wins a NASCAR race, it don’t mean nothin.’ It don’t say that Chevies are faster n’ anything else. Cause it ain’t a real Chevy. None of them is really cars what you can buy from a dealer. That’s what killed the pride in it, Tondy.

Big Dave: And that’s when it become more about the driver than the cars. The cars ain’t nothin’ you could ever own. So you at least figure you can drive like the driver maybe…

Marilyn: Jeff Gordon is the world’s fastest Christian! I learned that on King of the Hill…

Doc: Then, Tondy they been ruinin’ it more and more cause the drivers ain’t allowed to really RACE each other till right at the end. Everybody knows it and the drivers is up front about it. They just go roundy round til the last part of it. People wanna see them race each other the whole time, every lap.

Tondeleo: Maybe they are trying to play it safe?

Doc: And racin’ aint about playin’ it safe. It’s about which car is the fastest ad the best drived, and it ain’t been about that in a long time.

Big Dave: Yeah, that’s why we go more for drag racin’. A man ain’t got to be a millionaire to go in there and race and have some fun doin’ it. No matter what you drive, you can race it. Even a pick up truck.

Doc: Yeah, there’s big money in drag racing, too, but the little man can still be part of it, and you can go to the track and if you’re not racin’ you still know a lot of the drivers and some of them is your friends, so it’s a lot better. Ain’t nothin NASCAR can do to catch my interest anymore.

Tondeleo: I was reading online some of the election results in the US, and it prompted me to go back through my notes to find some of Doc’s comments on politics, policies and government. Here are some quotes that I ran across:

Doc: “It ain’t about just minding your own business and let people do what they want to do. We OUGHT to care what someone else does. You can't pee on your side of the pond without it coming into MY side of the pond.”

“Worserer than that, once people start peeing in the pond, it’s hard to get it out.That’s one thing wrong with America. We’ve had people peein’ in our pond for fifty years an’ now we want to get the government to get it out. Well, they cain’t! They was half the ones peein’ in it in the first place.”

“If you spit in the ice tea, we all got to drink it. So, YEAH, I care what you do even if you are a grown up with your own choices. You can spit in your own cup of tea, but don’t spit in the pitcher. We’re gonna go round and round if you do.”

“As for politicians. Tondy there is somethin’ special about a person what wants a job what depends on other people votin’ on him every four years. Like, he has a need to know that he is popular more than that he just did a good job. I think, get out there and do a good job at whatever you can do bein’ the best person you can, and help everybody what you can, an’ keep doin’ it even if aint nobody knows you’re doin’ it but you an’ the people you’re helpin.’”

“What we got in government right now is folks in high places what ain’t got no backbones. They know right from wrong, or they used to. But once they get elected, they get scared they won’t get re elected, so they do whatever they got to do to keep that job, whether it’s right or wrong. So we vote ‘em out ad put in another bunch to see if they’ll do any better. But what happens? Same thing! They get in office, and it goes to their heads and they forget the little man, which they USED to be!”

“I ain’t never runnin’ for no office. I gotta first be able to run my own life, even if my life is a little simple one. I’d rather do right in my own life than to be in charge of a bunch of other things and mess it up – and get corrupt like people gets when they got too much power. I’m a God fearin’ man, and don’t want to become a  people fearin’ man, which I would be if I was a politician. That ain’t no kind of life.”

“My daddy used to say he’d rather be first in charge of his own bass boat than be second in charge of a someone else’s sinking battleship. I agree with that.”

“But somebody’s got to do that job. It ain’t me. This whole mess the country is in is way too evil and too deep. Ain’t nobody gonna solve it with a tummy rub. It’s like stickin’ your head into a hornet’s nest and hopin’ you can make them like you. Ain’t gonna happen. Ain’t no President gonna make it happen, ain’t no congress and senate, ain’t no governor, either. Only God can straighten out this mess, but they made it plain they ain’t want him. So, it’s just gonna get worse. Well, worse til they can’t take no more and calls on God to help them. But I ain’t see that comin’ for a long time, Tondy, a LONG time.”

“I'm gonna write a song about it. I already sung it, but ain’t got Marilyn to write it down yet. It’s called Mr. President, you need to talk to the King.” By King, I mean God.”

Tondeleo: One thing I have noticed at home in England and everywhere else I have travelled is that people want to stand out and have their own personal style.That goes for people with money and education as well as for old age pensioners and even the homeless. There is a human quest for individuality that cannot be suppressed.

I was talking about this with Doc at Scott’s II Store one afternoon, as I was noticing and commenting on the way the various patrons expressed themselves with their clothing, their jewelry, accessories, hats and their cars and trucks. When the conversation was in full swing, I realised that I needed to get out my digital recorder and capture some of these thoughts.

What prompted me getting out my recorder was a Cadillac out in the car park of Scott’s that was pulling out as we went out to Doc’s truck for Marilyn to get her harps. It was evident that the car's owner didn’t have much money, but that he had a sense of style and clearly a sense of pride – and his car very much stood out from the others!

Doc pointed out all the changes that the owner had made:

Doc: Lookit that, Tondy! You ain’t got nothin’ like that over there to that England, I guarantee it! He got a Corvette hood scoop on it.Painted his grille gold. It’s just spray paint, but it makes it stand out. He got him some Wal Mart wheelcovers on it – and they ain’t match each other, but at least he’s tryin’.

Tondeleo: Well, ummm, you’re right Doc. I have never seen anything quite like this in England. It is sort of an American CHAV vehicle, perhaps. I don’t really know what to compare it to. It DOES make one sit up and take notice, I confess!

Doc: Yeah, Tondy, You gotta stand out. This boy’s standin’ out!

Marilyn:I think it stands out in a yucky way.It’s too much. Well, at least for me. I bet the cops could spot him a mile away, too! He probally ain’t thought of that.

Doc: Well, sometimes you wanna stand out and sometimes you wanna blend in. You can figure that out by walkin’ in the woods. Most the time, for survival, you gotta blend in. That’s what keeps the predators from noticin’ you and eatin’ you. Most everything in nature wears camo (camouflaged clothing). Snakes, turtles, frogs, deer, birds, almost everything. They need to blend in so they don’t get eaten.

But then, sometimes they gotta stand out for protection. Like a peacock blowin’ his tail all out big to look bigger than he really is – and prob’ly for standin’out so the girl peacocks notice him and think they want him ‘cause he’s a big man! Bull frogs does it, too! So they is two laws in the jungle. Blend in so you don’t get eaten and sometimes stand out to scare off enemies.

Look at him! He got what…five antennas on the back! And American flags! And magnets, too! He is scarin’ off the competition. I mean a dude with a regular car can’t compete! He is sayin’ somethin’ here, Tondy! Puttin’ ‘em on notice! He got a lot of work in that car an’ you can tell he loves it! That’s his baby!

Look how proud he is! An’ he OUGHT to be proud. That’s a car to remember! It ain’t about the money, it’s about the love you put in it. If it was mine, I’d be proud of it!

I’m proud of what I got, even though it ain’t worth much. At least it’s mine.

Me an’ Marilyn does the same thing when we’re playin. When we’re playin’ in the streets for money, we need to stand out enough so people stops to listen an’ give us money an’ if they really like us to ask for a card or invite us to play at a event or party or something. Lotta ties you gotta play ‘coustic guitar when buskin.’ BUt I use my drum box with the tambourine on it for a beat. That helps.

We make eye contact with ‘em an’ I’ll make up some words to the song I’m singin’ to put them in it:

Like: “I see that lady there with the sunglasses watchin’ me

She’s reachin’ in her wallet and gettin'’ out some money!

An’ she walks over here… an’ she puts it my case

That’s a good lookin’ woman

she puts a smile on my face – thank you ma’am!”

I’ll do somethin’ like that for anyone I can catch the eye of and it gets a crowd, an’ a crowd gets you money an’ bookin’s and friends. You gotta have friends ‘cause they pass the word around about you.

We stand out by lookin’ happy and bein’ high energy an’ ‘proachable. Marilyn kinda dances. We have dance contests on the street, too. Ain’t nothin’ funnier than havin’ a dance contest out on the streets an’ watchin’ men dance! And it gets a crowd.

When we’re playin’ and there is other bands, we don’t never do songs that they would do. We ain’t no 70’s cover band. We does mostly old stuff from the 40s and fifties. Nothin’ much newer than’ 1960, far as I know. That’s cause all we had was old music what other people didn’t want, when I grew up, or old songs what the people round us sang an’ played. We ain’t no human jukebox. We play songs what most bands don’t play so we don’t overlap what they is doin’ and that way the other bands likes us, too. That’s part of standin’ out.

Like, we bring along Thurman Goodlett to dance for us whenever we can. That boy can dance like Michael Jackson with ants in his pants! That helps us stand out. There is lotsa bands out there and they’s all better than us, so we gotta put on a show, if we’re gonna stand out. You got to stand out, Tondy. And people like a show. It ain’t so much about the music as it is about the show. Standin’ out is the show.

Marilyn: Sometimes it embarrassin’ but you gotta do it. Doc says if it don’t take guts, it ain’t worth doin’ and you gotta be bold, Tondy. Stand up and stand out is what I always say.

Tondeleo: Here is part of a conversation I recorded a year or so ago and never transcribed. Doc was talking about how, as people get more affluent, they tend to not be as happy and satisfied as they were when they were struggling.

Doc: "Ain't nothin' wrong with havin' stuff, Tondy. Nothin' at all. But the more a person has, the more he wants. That's a fact.

Not just the more he wants, but the more he thinks he needs. You take a man what's been broke all his life, and then he 'herits some money. Now he thinks he NEEDS things that used to he only dreamed about.

Now he NEEDS a couple of suits. He NEEDS vacations. Never had one in his life, now he NEEDS one or two a year. NEEDS a big house. NEEDS a shiny new car. NEEDS to have his kids in private school. NEEDS his old lady to quit workin' and to get her hair did every other week. And he ain't never had none of that even one day in his life before!

Now a poor man, when he thinks about having money, dreams that he would be more happier, more relaxed if all he had was more money. He thinks he would be happier and worry less, if he had, say a million dollars.

Poor folks worry, but so do rich folks. Matter of fact, most of the bosses what I've had has been more worried about money and payin' bills than poor folks. And they worried more about the future than poor folks.

Here they are, livin' their dream with their own shop or garage, an' people workin' for them and you find them worryin' more about the customer what went to a competitor, or worryin' about how can they get a bigger shop or a newer tow truck. I mean here is a guy who ain't never had nothin', and now he's got a little bit, he starts worryin' about what he ain't got!

Then, it gets worse, Tondy. Now he is worried about havin' life insurance, and how is he gonna send his kids to college, and his retirement, of which I ain't got one, and stuff he ain't never even heard of 'til he got a little money! You cain't even imagine the things a man will worry about, once his life gets easier an' he gets a few more dollars. Ain't no limit!

Here's somethin' else what happens. Instead of gettin' along better with people, he starts gettin' pickier and pickier! He gets mad at more people an' he gets mad for stuff what don't even matter! He's fightin' for things what don't matter one bit - an' he worries himself sick over it.

Like who is gonna be the Businessman of the Year. Who cares? Or, who else is gonna be allowed to join the same country club what he belongs to now? He wouldn't a even KNOWED about a country club a few years ago! And now he's a member, an' worried that they might let in someone who ain't up to his standard!

I say it's best to keep important things important, Tondy. Like puttin' enough food on the table. Bein' a better person. Gettin' along with folks. Helpin' people out what ain't got it as good as you, and walkin' with the Lord. That's about it. The rest'll take care of itself."

Tondeleo: To me, it's nothing short of amazing and a bit sad when I see how hard most of the rural Americans that I have met, have to work, just to sustain a not very lavish lifestyle.

America has many financial programmes that provide assistance, and many people take advantage of them. But, to most of the rural Americans I have met, accepting a handout is considered to be conceding defeat, and they feel that it also threatens their independence.

Over the Summer, I was able to spend part of a day at Doc and Marilyn's, and in the evening we visited some of their friends, all who are hard workers, but who have very little to show for their labours, at least in the material realm.

I asked Doc about how he felt, as he gets older, having to work so hard (mostly as a panel beater) fixing cars in his crowded home- made garage. Of course it is not air conditioned. He has an electric fan that was the ventilator in the 'loo of a government building that a friend of his remodeled (it was being tossed). Even with the stifling hot air being circulated, I know that I would not be able to last more than an hour. To be quite honest, his garage felt more like being in a giant human pizza oven. In the winter, he goes without heat, or uses a wood stove at the back of the shop, which does not heat it at all. It just takes the chill off. I cautioned Doc that as he got older, this would be a danger to his health.

Doc: Tondy, most days I can outwork a man what's twice my junior. But that aint as hard as it seems, cause them boys is gettin' older, too. It ain't like when they was twenty.

Alot of boys twice my junior is about thirty now, and they cain't work hard no more. So I can back off a little and still outwork 'em.

Tondeleo: OK, Doc, I understand... I think. You ARE admitting that you can't outwork a 20 year old, right?

Doc: Heck NO! Most of them 20 year olds, MARILYN can outwork 'em. Most of them what has been through high school aint had but one year of gym class! They get tired just THINKIN' about havin' to do real work. Most of 'em is bushed if they had to run a half mile! It ain't nothin' to outwork 'em!

Now Marilyn, she been doin' serious work since before I took her in when my brother died, She makes most of them boys look like the out of shape sissies they are! She can work out here in the shop when it's a hundred degrees!

These high school graduates want air conditionin' or they can't work. They want safety goggles. Sun glasses ain't good enough. Got to have dust masks and aspirators when we is sprayin' paint - or they run outside coughin' like they's dyin. But they can smoke cigarettes and weed all day long. And they can talk half a day.

Now, me, I ain't smoke nothin. I ain't drink. I ain't standin' around battin' the breeze all day. I stay pretty fit. So it ain't nothin' when a old man can outwork most men what's twice his junior - specially if they is city boys. Now country boys is another story.

This is just a short post. I've been dreadfully busy and have not had the time to transcribe any of my recordings from being with Doc and Marilyn, so I am just posting this short one in order to not look like I have quit posting.

Like a lot of rural Americans, Doc and Marilyn pray before they eat. I've learnt when I am eating with rural Americans not to just begin eating when I sit down at the table. I wait of course until my host or hostess is seated and then I wait for them to either take the first bite, or bow their heads to "bless the food."

"Blessing the food" generally consists of everyone at the table bowing their head and closing their eyes while one of them will offer a prayer of thanks for the food, and asking the Lord to not let any of them get sick from eating it. Well, they don't actually SAY that, but it is inherent in the nature of the prayer. Generally these prayers are mildly poetic or prosaic.

Some of them that I have heard include:

"Thank you Lord for these here vittles. Help us to receive strength and help from them. Amen."

Others get more religious:

"Thank you, Oh Lord for this food we are about to receive. Bless it for our bodies and and bless us for your service. Amen."

Then, there is the American classic, which many American children are taught, and some adults still say with folded hands and closed eyes:

"God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. Amen."

After praying over the food, then it is ok to "dig in" and resume a free for all at the table.

Earlier this Summer, I was at Doc and Marilyn's for the evening meal. Marilyn had heated up several little plastic containers that had originally contained margarine, or Cool Whip (an American non dairy substitute for whipped cream). Rural Americans save these throwaway containers, and use them to store leftovers, small car parts, or eat from them as cereal bowls or soup bowls.

As Marilyn sat down, I bowed my head, waiting for her or Doc to pray. Doc picked up his fork and began to eat right out of a container of kale.

Marilyn immediately began fussing at him and rebuking him for eating unblessed food.

Doc jammed the food over into one of his cheeks and stuffed some leftover ham slices into his mouth, ignoring her the best he could.

Marilyn felt that he was truly tempting the Lord by doing this and asked what had possessed him to be eating without blessing his food.

Doc looked at me, rolled his eyes and exhaled. Then he said in an exasperated voice, "Marilyn, this is the third time we've had this here food. If the Lord ain't blessed it by NOW, He ain't GOING to."

And he kept on eating.

Tondeleo: Back in the Spring, when I was spending a Saturday with Doc and Marilyn, we went to Alexandria, VA, just outside of Washington, DC, where they did some street performing in the late afternoon. They like to play in Old Town Alexandria because there is a lot of foot traffic, the crowds are appreciative and the police are friendly, and will let them at least finish whatever song they are singing before telling them to move on.

We went from Old Town to Crystal City, which is between Alexandria and Arlington. They set up at the bank which had closed for the day, on the corner of South Eads Street and 23rd Street. As usual, they drew a crowd, and some of the people were dancing and clapping. Doc and Marilyn were in their usual upbeat and high energy mode and people were tossing money into the collection box.

When Doc looked up the block and saw a Police car making its rounds, he announced that they were going to have an intermission, and would be playing again after a break.

As the crowd of locals and tourists dispersed, there was a young Sikh man who stayed behind, probably out of curiosity, having seen maybe his first live, genuine American redneck. He approached Doc and the two began talking. I could tell initially that Doc was particularly wary of the Sikh, and I decided to get Marilyn and take a walking tour of 23rd Street, to look at the maybe 20 small restaurants that line it on either side. I could not bear to think how the conversation between the turbaned Sikh and Doc might go.

After Marilyn and I came back, maybe twenty minutes later, Doc was standing at the bank waiting with his guitar and mini amp. He looked like he had just had an epiphany. I figured this would be a good one, so I pulled out my recording stick. Here is how it went:

Doc: Hey, Tondy and Marilyn - Didja see the towelhead I was talking to? That dude with the turbine ["turban"] on his head?

We noted that we had, so Doc continued:

Doc: When I first saw him hangin' around after we sang, I figured he was a terrorist, one of them Towel a Bands [Doc's term for Taliband]. I seen 'em on TV but ain't never seen one close up. I was ready for him if he tried anything.

But guess what Marilyn? He weren't no Towel a Band. I asked him and he said he weren't and then I asked him how I knew that he weren't one and was just lyin' about it. He told me he weren't a Towel a Band and he came from the wrong part of the world to be one. He told me he weren't no Al Qaida neither, in case I was wondering.

I hadn't thought of Al Qaeda whatever they are, but I told him that if he weren't no Towel a Band, then he must be a fortune teller.

Tondy, he said he ain't no fortune teller, neither. I asked, what ARE you then, and he said he was a Seek [Sikh]. I asked what he was seekin' and he said it was his religion. I let him know that if he would seek the good Lord, he would find him. No doubt.

Marilyn: That's GOOD, Uncle Doc! You was WITnessin' to him!

["Witnessing" means to tell someone about being "born again" in America - Tondeleo]

Doc: Well, I might've been. But I weren't tryin.' That Seek said he liked our music and that is why he stayed! He said he loves American blues and roots music. They ain't got it in his country, but he loves it and would like to learn how to sing it! In fact, he said his NAME is SING! ["Singh," a common name among Sikhs - Tondeleo].

Once I found out he weren't no terrorist, I closed up the knife in my pocket, and told him I was ready for him but now I wasn't gonna cut him. He said in his religion, Tondy, they GOT to carry a knife! GOT to! It's part of their religion! I told him it's a part of my religion, too.

He was a good old boy, Tondy. Just regular like me an' Marilyn. He said whenever I see someone with one of those turbines on his head, to know that it ain't no terrorist, just a Seek. Ain't that somethin? Seeks ain't nothin' like terrorists, Tondy. They are more like us. But they is still seekin. An' I got a picture of him with Marilyn's phone.

Tondeleo: In the light of the worldwide economic crisis, I thought it would be particularly fitting to post this conversation I had with Doc a few months ago about greed, money, and contentment.

As you know, Doc doesn't have a lot of money or material possessions, but he is content, and works hard enough at enough things that he and Marilyn and the dogs eat well.

I was asking Doc about the why America seems to have sudden;y plummeted from it's position as world leader to a confused giant that has somehow lost its way. I thought his answers were worth posting.

Doc: Tondy, I'll tell ya. It's about payin' the cost to be the boss. You gotta pay the cost to be the boss. America used to be a country full of immigrants. In my granddaddy's day, they al was pretty much immigrants, where he lived. In they's houses, they spoke the language of where they'd come from. At home, you might hear Italian, Pollock, German or whatever. They was all first generation immigrants.

But they's kids was American and called themselves American. Didn't call themselves half American like they do now. You can take some office boy what ain't never been outta the US and his parents aint, and his grandparents aint, and he calls hisself a Irish-American. No, he's American.

Same with black folks. They ain't all African American. Some is from the islands, like Jamaica or Saint Lucy. They is also white folks what is African, 'cause I met a white woman from South Africa, and she said she was African, and I said, Whoa sister! You are the wrong color but she said she was South African.

But what made America great, Tondy, was them first generation folks. Immigrants. They left everything they had in they's own countries and spent all they had to come here, to start a new life. They paid the price.

But that second and third generation, they is the ones that lose that sense of bein' hungry and havin' a dream to pull them along. A ot of them is spoilt, and ain't got no work ethic. Some of 'em won't even work. But they's parents and grandparents worked day and night and sacrificed so they could live the American dream. But the grandkids just ain't got that drive.

They ain't got the drive, they ain't got the work ethic, but they want everything that money can buy and they want it NOW. N-O-W, now. And if they cain't get it, they feel like they is being held back and mistreated. That is what has happened to America, Tondy.

These folks is so indulged, they feel empty if there is something out there that they haven't been able to buy yet, or if they find out about some place they ain't been to yet, and then they feel like they is bein' held back. They gotta have EVERYTHING they want and not ever be told the word, "no."

That's why most people in America is so in debt. They want everything right now, when they aint got the money for it, so they makes payments, and they spend more than they make every month.

Like most people gots credit cards. And they can't pay it off every month because they spend more than they make. They can't afford how they is livin.' And they think they gotta have all that stuff. They don't.

That is the kind of people what got in control of our country, and the banks and car companies, and they think they have to have everything and have it all right now. And they don't care who they hurt or have to rip off, and that is how they grabbed millions of dollars for themselves and ran the common people into the ground.

As for me, I think you are rich if you don't need anything. Like I seen a rich dude at the mall up to Waldorf. Me an' him got to talkin' an' I asked him what he was buyin.' He coulda bought half that mall if he wanted. Know what he said? He said he wasn't buyin' nothin. He already had enough of everything. Now, that is rich.

Bein' rich is about having enough that you don't need everything. I got a pickup truck an' my old panel truck. I ain't need a new car. Ain't even tempted. I like where I live, and I like my guitars and my tools and my dogs and my friends and Marilyn. I ain't needin' anyting else. So I am a rich man, Tondy. I ain't needin' nothin'.

Here's a story that my cousin down in Gate City told me.

A rich man dies and wants to take along at least one bag of money with him. It's all he has. He ain't never been very religious - ain't never helped nobody neither. He just made money all his life. The angel of death, he didn't care if the man brought along a bag of money.

So the man stands before the throne of God, up in Heaven, and Jesus asks, What's that? The man said, "it's my money, it's all I have."

Jesus says, to the angel: "Let me see it, bring it here." Jesus takes that bag of money and tries to sit on it. He says, This is too lumpy to be a good cushion."

So Jesus pulls it out from under himself and tosses it on the floor and puts his feet on it. He says, "It's too small to be a good footstool… and it never gets cold up here, so it is no good to burn it for heat."

So he tells the angel to give it back to the man and tell him he to carry it around. It's all he's got.

Tondy, that's the way a lot of people is. That story ain't in the BIble, but it's a good one.

Tondeleo: My friend Clive in Hemel Hempstead has been vegan for the past few years and has finally convinced me to cut out all meat eating. Clive says, "Don't eat anything that had a face." That's his rule. He may go for the occasional clam or oyster, I don't know, but that is his rule. If it had a face, he will not eat it.

I like me fish n' chips, so to ask me to cut out all meat is a big deal. I finally have been without meat for perhaps four weeks, and I think I feel better for it. I still eat mountains of chips, however. The part of Clive's argument that persuaded me to go vegetarian is the violence involved. He asked me how I could in good conscience eat something that had to die so I could live. It hardly seems fair that a cow should have to die so that I could live, does it? Why should a fish die, just so I could have an order of fish n' chips?

I came to peace with my decision, and decided to present Doc Stevens and Marilyn with the idea of becoming vegetarians or even vegans. Here is how that conversation went:

Tondeleo: Doc, since the last time we got together, I've gone vegetarian! That means I don't eat meat anymore! I only eat vegetables. It is less violent, and I feel that it is wrong for something else to have to die so that I could live. I think that you and Marilyn ought to consider it.

Doc: So WHY ain't you eatin' meat? You don't want nothin' to DIE?

Tondeleo: That's pretty much it, Doc. The less death on the earth, the better. So I am doing my part to save life on earth. It's a noble thing, really...

Doc: Well, it's noble if you don't think about it, and if you ain't never done no farmin'. For somethin' to die so somethin' else can live is a part of nature. A ant eats a termite to live. A lizard eats the ant. A bird eats the lizard and a cat eats the bird. An' the Chinese carry out might eat the cat. That's how it's set up, Tondy. Somethin' dies so somethin' else can live. Country folks all know that. We LIVE that. But you can do what you like.

Tondeleo: Well, I don't like the idea of taking a life so I can live.

Doc: I unnerstan, Tondy. Takin' a life so you can live sounds bad. But even the Lord gave his life so we could live. That's the way it is. It takes life to give life.

But eatin' just veggies don't mean you ain't killin' nothin' when you eat. When I plow a field to plant vegetables, more things die than if I shot a cow for you to eat. In even one acre of ground, when it gets plowed, hundreds of bugs die. Three of four snakes'll die. Mouse nests with baby mice will be plowed under. It might kill a dozen field mice. A couple of turtles'll get plowed under. You're killin' maybe a hundred things just to plant a acre of food. And they ain't always fast or easy deaths. Some of it is pretty slow.

"But eatin' just veggies don't mean you ain't killin' nothin' when you eat. When I plow a field to plant vegetables, more things die than if I shot a cow for you to eat."

When you eat a cow, it is only one death. Cows don't step on snakes and turtles and mice and all that. Most everything gets outta their way. When a cow is butchered, it's pretty quick, too. I ain't changin' your mind, just fillin' out your information.

Like I ain't eat much commercial raised beef cause it's full of hormones and chemicals and they feed them cows corn. Cows ain't supposed to eat corn and cain't really digest it. Feedin'a cow a diet of corn'll kill it in less than a year. It makes acid and they die of acidosis if they ain't butchered afore they die of it. A cow is made to eat grass. I eat local grown cows. I eat more deer. Deer ain't full of hormones and chemicals. And it's free.

You gotta watch out for farm raised fish, too, Tondy. They put growth chemicals in their food to make 'em grow quicker. You ain't wantin' that. neither. Eat fresh fish. Or you can eat veggies like you're doin'.

Guess what, though Tondy? Pickin' out what kinds of food you will and won't eat is a luxury. Most of us is happy just to eat anything. I ain't too big on Ramen noodles but I eat 'em if that's all we got.My favorite food is veinson and a side of greens and maybe a potato. But I cain't always get what I want. So I settle for eatin' what the good Lord provides.

Now if you got the money to buy just what you want, then I say more power to ya. It ain't hurt nobody an' it makes you happy. Go for it.

Tondeleo: So what are you saying, Doc? Are you actually SUPPORTING me be a vegetarian? I can't believe that!

Doc: I'm just sayin' a man can eat what he wants to eat. If you like veggies, eat 'em. If you like meat, eat it, but be careful where it comes from. But don't think that eatin' veggies saves more life than eatin' meat. It don't. You just gotta know that for one thing to live, somethin' else is gonna have to die. It's sad, but that's life.

I ain't care what you eat, just don't make it a issue for everybody else. Don't come off soundin' like you're better an' smarter than everybody else cause you is a vegetarian now. You eat what you eat, an' me an' Marilyn eat what we eat. Sometimes it'll be the same thing. Tonight we're havin' greens and pinto beans for supper. That's what we're havin' because that's what we got. Ain't makin' no statements, just makin' supper.

Tondeleo: I was going through some of my recordings of talks with Doc and ran across this short little story. It typifies Doc's sense of humor and initial aggressive attitude, which mellows if you don't overreact immediately. A lot of what Doc says is purely for effect, or because he likes to hear it said, and nobody else is saying it. Here it is:

Doc: "So the boss man is tryin' to get me an' the other boys what worked there to come in on Saturdays and Sundays cause he cain't figure out how to make enough money Monday through Friday, and that's with over charging the customers, and payin' us as little as he can get by with, and even then not payin' us every week.

He says to us on Friday afternoon, as we was pickin' up our pay, "Hey, y'all's comin' in to work tomorrow and Sunday. Everybody is."

The other guys just moaned under their breath, but I weren't comin' in. I had a lady's car to fix on Saturday, and needed to go to the laundromat on Saturday nite. Sunday morning I was helpin' my buddy pack his things up, over to the trailer park so he could move, Sunday afternoon, I was invited to a Gospel concert and picnic with free food. I ain't had no time, Tondy. So I said "I ain't comin' in. I ain't got time to work here seven days a week."

Suddenly I heard myself sayin' "Well, in the word 'time' there's a I and a ME, so I guess I am gonna have to quit to go work for ME..."

Boss Man points to a poster on his office wall. One of them ones with a picture of a eagle or a mountain and then at the bottom has a fancy sayin' so bosses can take a vantage of they's workers.

He says, "Look at that, Doc. It says, 'There is no "I" in team.' What do you think of that? It isn't about YOU it is about US. We're a team and there is no I in team.

Suddenly I heard myself sayin' "Well, in the word 'time' there's a I and a ME, so I guess I am gonna have to quit to go work for ME, if you start this workin' all the TIME stuff."

An' you know what? He let us all not HAVE to work on Saturday an' Sunday, if we already had plans. An' he asked us not to plan much for the next two weekends. He were a pretty good ol' boy after all, if you pushed him. No doubt.

I WERE kinda scared for a minute he was gonna fire me for sayin' that!

Tondeleo: If you follow this blog, you know that I write it from various interviews and encounters with Doc Stevens, in the USA. He is the kind of American that we don't see on the telly, but that is very common in the rural areas of the States. He is a hard worker, and has a very simple life. He works, plays music, travels and does his best to help his friends and family members. He takes pride in his niece, Marilyn. He is fiercely loyal to his friends.

This series of postings is from interviews with Doc more than a year ago, when I was on assignment in America and was able to get several evenings with him, and also spent my days off with him and his friends. We were talking about poverty in America, and how even a sober, hard working individual can get caught in the cycle of poverty.

America is not like the U.K. in that there is not massive public transport, they don't have the dole as we know it, and many Americans have too much of a sense of independence to accept public assistance. I have discovered that for many Americans, there is a lag time between applying for public assistance and actually receiving it. During that time, which may be more than a month, people are on their own, and have to live by their wits. It is surprising, really.

I got several hours recorded on this topic and am posting them as I get the opportunity to transcribe them and post them. I have no idea how many postings this will produce, since the cycle of poverty and the ripple effects of it are a major part of the lives of America's working poor. I have learnt that these people tend to be caring, friendly, once you earn their trust and have the same needs, wants and hurts as anyone else. Just on different levels.

Doc and his friends are a hard working and hard playing lot. None of them are lazy, but they are not always the most efficient or savvy individuals. Now, on with the interview.

Doc: Here's a thing about bein' poor, Tondy. I figured it out. When you is close to the edge, you aint got no room for ANY mistakes. One bad move and you are done. Like a man with money can lose a $20 bill and he still got a place to live that night. It don't mean nothing. But if I am new in town, and all I got is $50, and the room for the night is $50, and I lose a twenty, I am not only homeless that night, but I can't get to my guitar or tools, if they is locked in the room, til I pay that night's rent and the next one. All 'cause of losing a $20 bill!

Aint no room for mistakes, if you're poor. I ain't no troublemaker. But If I am new in town and aint no one know me, and someone hits me and I hit him back, guess who goes to jail? Me, cause I am the new guy, and aint got no family or roots there. Everything matters when you're poor. You cant pay a traffic ticket. You lose your license. So then what you gonna do? you still got to get to work, so that means you still got to drive. In a small town, that same cop is gonna see you an' pull you over again.

One time, I was in jail for a couple days, and had a court date in another county for driving on suspended. Suspended why? Because I could not pay the traffic fine earlier. But I was driving on suspended because I was fixin' a lady's car, for some rent money and was test driving it and a cop pulled me over cause he knew I didn't belong in that car! Thought I'd stole it! He knew the lady! But he didn't know me as a person. He just knew my license was suspended.

So here I am in jail in another county, and my court date comes up and I didn't make it to the courthouse! I was in jail! They revoked my license! But I still gotta drive to go to work, but the boss man was gonna fire me for missing three days of work. Then, I couldn't pay my insurance.

Three days off work can mean a lot to a person's life if they ain't got much to begin with. Now what if I had a ol' lady an' kids what I was tryin' to feed at that time? They woulda been put out on the streets with no food, no clothes, no nothin! At checkout time on Friday evening, they are told they gotta go! Now where they gonna go? Specially in the winter! Lotsa families live under that pressure day after day.

When I showed up for court, and the cops what stopped me didn't show up, I COULD have probly got off. But I done what they said I done, and told the Judge that yeah I done it. He gave me a $90 fine, court costs and 24 hours community service. When I showed up for community service the lady there told me I had to first pay the $90 plus court costs before doin' community service. But I ain't had $90. I ain't had but bucks. And I had to take off a day of work just to get there to be turned away.

Folks what got money, even middle class people ain't never been in that position, so they just say to get over it. But you cain't get over it when it is your life and you aint got nothing, and your family aint got nothing and your friends aint got nothing and you caint go to the bank and get the money pout it on a credit card. When you close to the edge like a lot of us is, you aint got room to get a ticket, you aint got room to get fined, you aint got room to miss a day's work. You caint afford none of that. When you fall into a ditch it is hard to get out.

Folks with money pays car insurance 6 months at a time. Rich folks pay a year at a time. Folks without money get charged more for insurance and we pay it every 30 days or we get reported to DMV, and our tags are suspended! So we got to drive without insurance, so we can have food and a roof, hope we don't get stopped for a tag light out, and hope the person with us aint got no drugs in the car.

If they got drugs in the car, the car gets impounded and if it's lot of drugs, or if the cop SAYS it's a lot of drugs or he plants a lot of drugs in the car, everyone in the car is goin' to jail.

If I got a car or a truck, I can just sleep in that til I get on my feet. My boss thinks I get there early for work and just snooze till he gets there. No. I drive off at quittin' time and try to make some money playin' music or fixin' someone's car, and then I circle back to the shop and park in the parking lot or out back for the night. That's the best I can do when I am new in town. And I'm a lucky one, Tondy. I aint a drunk. I aint a druggie. I got a trade. I can talk ok. I can play guitar an' sing. An' I believe in the Lord. You aint gotta be a choirboy for him to give you a helpin' hand from time to time.

A man's gotta keep tryin, and not give up. When he falls down, he gotta get up as soon as he can, and learn whatever he can and keep tryin' and keep his attitude good.

Tondeleo: A while back, I was talking with Doc about the power of the Internet and all the knew information and medical breakthroughs that are coming about through shared knowledge and research. I was trying to explain to him how in some instances each of us has a piece of the puzzle and when we share it, others can come along and add their knowledge and ultimately people get helped and lives can be saved.

I know he doesn't understand the Internet and the concepts I was passing on, but as I mentioned in the last post, something got Doc interested in sharing some of his "medical breakthroughs" with the world through the "interweb."

He brought me three drawings he did, with Marilyn's assistance on the spelling and wording. He wanted me to post them on the "interweb" and to make sure that if someone gets help from them that they know they were helped by Doc Stevens, Inventor and Body 'n Fender Man.

Here's what he says about this invention:

Doc: "Tondy what you was saying about all the bad blood out there an' AIDS an' drug addicts sellin' their blood for money got me worried. Then I was eatin' corn flakes with freeze dried strawberries in 'em an' a idea hit me BLAM! right in the head. Them straw berries might be a year old when you get 'em in your cereal bowl, but when you add milk or water like me an' Marilyn do when things is tight, you got fresh strawberries. That is cause they is freeze dried.

A person could go to the Red Cross or a hospital and get some blood drained out and freeze dried when they is healthy. They could carry it in a little packet like coffee creamer comes in, and keep it in they's wallet or purse if they is a woman. Then, when they has an accident, the doctors can just add water to they's freeze dried blood an' just like that, you have fresh blood. An' you know it'll work in that person cause it is they own blood in the first place.

I ain't never tried it personally but I bet they is a doctor out there on that Interweb what could make it work. If he does, or if she does if it is a lady, tell 'em to get ahold of you or me Tondy, cause we gave 'em the idea. Show 'em the drawing, too."

Why does a dog eat that dried dog food? Cause the hypmotized owner gives it to them. And cause the company what made it sprayed it down with some kind of animal juices to trick the dog into thinking it might be good for him. Let a bowl of it sit out in the rain so the juices get washed off. A dog won’t touch it, if you get the juices off it. A rat will, or a bird will. A squirrel might, but a dog won’t.

A dog cain’t digest corn and rice and barley an’ all the grains they put in there. Prove it to yourself. Give your dog a cup full of dried up chicken food what they sell at the store as dog food, an’ then wait for him to poop. He’ll poop out a cup full of it, if what you fed him was a cup full. He cain’t DIGEST it, Tondy.

Tondeleo: So how does the dog survive on kibbles and dried food, Doc?

Doc: Kibbles? What’s a kibble? You ever seen a kibble? I saw a bag of dog food with kibbles and bits wrote on it. I checked the ‘gredients. Weren’t no kibbles in it and weren’t no bits. Just chicken feed.

A dog survives on that crap because they spray vitamins on it and things a dog needs, and the corn and chicken food fills him up. But he ain’t digesting the grains. Lookit my dogs. That Rottweiler is more than 12 years old! They only is supposed to live to be about 10. But he is twelve and is still a good watch dog. I feed him deer meat, and pork, beef, chicken and fish. And, NO, I don’t feed him no veggies, less they’s off mine or Marilyn’s plate. My dogs get a little bit of dry dog food when I run low on meat but they don’t like it and they fill my yard with grain poop, undigested, and ready for birds to eat.

I got three dogs right now. Two American Bulldogs and that Rottweiler. I call him John Wayne. The American Bulldogs is both ‘bout five years old, from different bloodlines. Stubby is 65 pounds and Dale Junior is 125 pounds. I think Stubby’s got some pit bull in him. Look at his build, and I can tell you from when he gets fightin’ he’s got a bit of pit in him.

I feed them a lot of deer meat, cause we got plenty of deer out here. Deer meat is called venice. I feed them beef, chicken, pork and fish. Some of it raw and some of it cooked. I give them raw bones, because a cooked bone will splinter in their mouth and might jam up into their gums and then you got to take ‘em to a dog dentist. I ain’t never had to take mine, because they only get raw bones. And they chew ‘em right up to nothin’!

They never needs their teeth cleaned because the bones keep ‘em white and strong. My other dog what died three years ago was 17 years old! His name was Hank Williams. Senior, not Junior. He was a outside dog, mix of collie and chow. Lived outside his whole life and wandered wherever he wanted to go. One time he went all the way to La Plata, 18 miles from here, because some girl got up his nose! We found him because he was in the paper, with his picture and they was trying to find his owner! We went down there and signed for him. He was twelve then, an’ the S.P.A. people could not believe it. I told ‘em how he eats and gets all the exercise he wants an’ he had been checked out by them. They put him at 8, but I had papers from when he went to the vet when he was a puppy once for a check up.

My dogs is all in good shape but we let John Wayne get fat the last couple of years because he is 12 years old an’ is still a watchdog but he likes to eat a lot of meat and he lays around a lot. He’s getting’ to look more like Elvis now, and headed toward lookin’ like Rosie O’Donald.

Stubby and Dale Junior is both ripped and strong as oxes. Both of ‘em is in perfect health with white teeth and more energy than Michael Jackson thinkin’ bout Boys Village. Lookit the muscles on Dale Junior! Lookit his big head an’ neck. He got a 23 inch neck.

If you want your yard piled up with dog turds, just feed ‘em corn based dog food. Feed ‘em meat an’ they digest ‘most all of it an’ your yard stays cleaner, ain’t filled with dead soldiers.

Tondeleo: So you say feed your dog’s people food?

Doc: They is no such thing as people food. All through history an’ still in countries where people ain’t lost their mind, a dog eats what the family eats. He don’t eat what the chickens eat. They didn’t even HAVE anything called dog food until about 1935! What did dogs eat until then?

Feedin’a dog corn and old grain was the idea of the granaries figuring out what to do with their extra grain what they couldn’t sell. So they opened up dog food factories. Remember Purina Dog Chow? It’s leftover GRAIN!

The problem is if the PEOPLE ain’t eatin’ the right thing an’ then give it to their dog. A dog ain’t s’posed to be eatin’ French fries an’ noodles any more than a person is. Eat right an’ feed your dog right. I’m 55 years old an’ can out work most twenty year olds, my skin ain’t dried out an’ I have no aches or pains. I ain’t good lookin, but I am healthy.

Here’s somethin’ else what knocks me over: Bags of dog food with pictures of peas, carrots an’ what’s them little trees… brockley or sparagus! Like a dog would want that! Those pictures are for the tree huggin’ ‘partment dwellers who like veggies and don’t eat meat. But a dog ain’t a vegetarian. He is a meat eater. Look at his teeth.

I mean a dog will eat cat turds an’ road kill – an’ they try to fill’em with corn, and then buy rubber bones for ‘em to chew on. That’s animal cruelity. I’m sick of talkin’ about it."