Tondeleo: Doc has always enjoyed traveling - or rambling and roving. Sometimes he refers to it as being a hobo.  He says when the travel bug bites, he has to take off. When Marilyn was dropped off for him to raise, he had to cut back on his traveling to just a bit here and there, and for shirt little trips and time off.

Doc: "Yeah, I had to cut way back on my hobo ways when my brother's wife dropped her off here on her way to Tennessee with that piece of trash what she met at the carnival. Marilyn was about 10 or 11 and couldn't be left on her own, so it was up to me to be there for her and look out for her. Plus them socialist services was on my case all the time tryin' to catch me messin' up. I had to watch my p's and q's, which included not takin' off so much."

That seems to be a pretty common phenomenon among him and his friends. They can talk for hours about the various times they just "took off," to wander around the country for a spell. Some of them have spent years at a time hopping trains, and just going wherever the trains took them. To support themselves, they'd steal food or anything they thought they could get by with taking and then sell very cheaply. Doc won't talk much about what he calls the days of his darkness. Especially not with Marilyn around.

But he does talk about the urge to wander and roam. He talks about some of the good times, anyway. From what I could tell, the travel bug would bite whenever there was financial pressure, work pressure, family pressure or any other kind of pressure. When the pressure builds up too much for alcohol to wash it away, they would take off. They might just start walking. Just walk out the door with nothing but the clothes on their back, and keep on going.

Doc: You gotta go when you gotta go. It gets too much to be stayin' in one place and then that open road starts callin' and you gotta answer. I've hopped trains, hitch hiked, walked, took buses when I could do some work for a few dollars, and then one day you wake up an' you're ready to go back home an' see your friends an' family. Dependin' on where you are, it might take a couple weeks to make it back. Home seems better when you're far away and been gone awhile.

Once you been gone a while, you can remember all that's good about it and how the folks back home ain't that bad, and they mean well and how deep down in your heart you really do love them. Well, most of 'em.

I always take a guitar along. Usually my oldest Tele. That guitar's been a friend of mine for years an' years an' been on many 'ventures with me. I can count on being able to make a few dollars singing on the streets with that Tele and my battery powered amp, or play indoors with other people and pick up a few bucks.

Once people here you singin' and playin' and find out you're not a crazy person, you can get invited to their place to play at a party or barbecue or whatever. Mostly it's about playin' and  singin' the kind of stuff they want to hear, an' also about bein' friendly and not scary. A lot of homeless people scare people away as a way of protectin' themselves. I can take care of myself, and for me, bein' funny works most of the time.

I like going to churches and missions to play for 'em and share my testimony. Sometimes they give you a love offerin' and put you up for the night.The preacher might meet you for breakfast in the mornin' if you told your testimony well an' if the folks got touched or someone got saved. Oh yeah, I also take a Bible with me when I go ramblin'.

So I ask, "Doc, what is it that makes a man want to ramble, as you put it? How do you know when it's time to take off? What about the people in your life, like your family or boss or your friends?"

Doc: "Well, Tondy, it ain't somethin' you choose. A restless feelin' comes on you and won't leave. You start dreamin' about places far away an' wantin' to be there. Even if you don't leave, you're no good where you are. You're heart's not in it and your mind's not in it. You're better off just takin' off an' gettin' it outta your system."

Me: "But what about the people you leave behind? What about your boss?"

Doc: Well, when that bug hits you hard enough that you gotta roam, they all know it, and they are pretty ready for you to go. If you're poor, your job ain't much anyway. You get a little hard to deal with, and usually the boss man is about ready to let you go from the job. You ain't really hurtin' no one. I know, they cry a bit an' fuss, but they know that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and that you'll be back when you can. And then everybody's happy when you get back. Plus, you got new stories for them from faraway places."

You know what else, Tondy? If a man's gonna be poor, he ought to at least see some sights Y'all forget that poor folks can't go on vacations an' cruises an' all that. We work, we find some way to chill out, like drinkin' or smokin' weed for some, or playin' music - for some, it's drinkin', smokin' weed an' playin' music all at the same time - or goin' to church and gettin' on fire for the Lord.

That's one reason why a lot of our churches are more excitin' than the churches where richer people goes.
Church is all the excitement we got, if we ain't drinkin', druggin' or ramblin'. When I cut back on my ramblin', Marilyn and the people at her church got me goin' to church an' castin' my cares on the Lord. That's kept me calm and gave me a peace that passes understandin'.

People like you got money enough for vacations, travel and what not and you got money for them therapists and all that. We ain't got none of that. But like I said, I ain't done much ramblin' and wild cattin' since Marilyn came here. I had to stick around no matter how bad the itch got to take off. But nowadays, I can come and go as I please an' it keeps the pressure from buildin' up makin' me want to leave. Bein' with the Lord and His people has made all the difference in the world for me.

Tondeleo: The Occupy Movement in the US is in a sad situation. A sad situation for the people of the US, and ultimately for the government of the USA, I believe. I was discussing this with Doc after watching the scant coverage of it last weekend on the local Fox network from Washington DC. We also watched the coverage on NBC-4.

For some reason, the news media in the US cannot comprehend what Occupy is about. Even when the Occupiers articulate specifically what they are protesting, the American journalists seem to just not get it. And they SAY so. Doc and I discussed this and here are some highlights from that conversation.
Of course everyone knows that the American Constitution gives all citizens the right to protest, or assemble peaceably, but the police do not always see it that way. 

Doc: Well, Tondy, here’s what it’s about in my ‘pinion. You got the rich folks who is totally outta touch with the rest of us. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with makin’ money or getting’ rich because you’re makin’ somethin’ that people want to buy, or you’re helpin’ people in a big way and they reward you for it. Ain’t no one here mad about that.

What this is about, far as I am concerned is these are rich folk that make their money by buyin’ companies what wasn’t even for sale, but they bought up all the things called stocks so they controlled it. Then they sold off everything of value, an’ then sold what was left to another company. And all the workers there lost their jobs. But the first company what bought their company where they worked don’t care. They just wanted the money.

Now these folks ain’t got jobs, so they can’t pay the rent or the light bill or the car payment, so they are put out on the street and their car gets tooken away. That’s what some of ‘em is protestin’ about, and I don’t blame them one bit. It aint right.

Others have made big money by fore closin’ on peoples’ houses what they was tryin’ to buy, but then couldn’t pay for when they hours got cut down at the job, or they got laid off. So the banks take they houses, and lets ‘em sit empty rather than let the people what loved those houses be allowed to live in ‘em til things got better. 

So you got more people outta work an’ homeless, and no hope. But they’s house is sittin’ there empty and squirrels and possums and rats are livin’ in ‘em for free, and tearin’ ‘em up. That ain’t right neither.
Then we got them wars that ain’t right. Them people over there aint no threat to America. If they was, they’d be a threat to Canada and Mexico an’ Braazil an’ all the rest. So why do we think we gotta go over there an’ bomb the bejeezus outta they countries? 

I heard that some of them bombs we’re chuckin’ down over there is two million dollars apiece and some is three million dollars. And who pays for that? All these people over here what already can’t afford to live! What if they cut back by, say, 10 of them bombs a month? That would be… it’d be… uhhh…

Tondeleo: It would be twenty to thirty million a month, Doc. Good point.

Doc: Well, it would help a lot of people to pay off they houses or get ‘em back, and it would help a lot of businesses get back in business so people could work and spend money.

And if a man ain’t got nothin’ to do with his time, he’s gonna catch a bus up there to DC an’ make his voice be heard. 

When I finish up the couple of jobs I got in the shop, I’m gonna go up there myself. An’ I am takin’ my own little crowd with me.

What makes me mad is what I seen on TV, that the cops’ll come in an’ start sprayin’ people with pepper spray even though the people is just sittin’ there or ‘spressin’ they opinion. That ain’t American, Tondy. Ain’t American. 

I got some kids what is gonna protest with me an’ they ain’t care nothin’ about pepper spray! I got ‘em from in front of a buildin’ over to Virgina what was throwin’ ‘em out, an’ we got the preacher up to the church to help us letter ‘em up real good. I can Occupy anyplace I want now, Tondy! I am a one man protest!

I got a picture that Big Dave took of me last week when we was settin’ ‘em up to see how it would go. Put it in your blob about me.

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’s an example 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 him already over charging the customers, and payin' us as little as he can get by with, and even then not payin' us our full paychecks every week. And that was only payin’ us minimum wage. You can’t live on minimum wage even if you got maximum hours. When they keep you broke, Tondy, they got you over a barrel.

So 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. Be here at 8 o’clock."

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 like Gospel music, and I like free food. Them church women can COOK! ANd they usually give out doggie bags full of leftovers, what become my lunch the next week. I ain't had no time to come in on Saturday or Sunday, Tondy.

So I said to the Boss Man: "I ain't comin' in. I ain't got time to work here for you seven days a week."

Boss Man points to a poster on his office wall. One of them ones with a picture of a eagle on a mountain and then at the bottom has a fancy sayin'. He had a lot of them posters what is made 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. You HAVE to make time to come in and work with the team.”

Suddenly I heard myself sayin' "MAKE time? Make time? 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. We could handle that, since he was givin’ us notice.

But sometimes bosses know what they’re gonna do and they like to show their power by not letting the workers know til the last minute.  He were a pretty good ol' boy after all, if you pushed him. No doubt. But you had to push him. A lot of bossmen are like that.

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

When I heard that come out of my mouth, I was scared, cause after the work on that lady’s car, I didn’t have no other work at the garage at the moment. I didn’t have no gigs to play, it was too cold and rainy to go to DC and sit out on the sidewalk and play… and the rent was due the next week. The landlord likes it when I work!

But somebody needed to say it and I guess it fell to me. That happens a lot. There’s something what needs to be said, and nobody’ll say it, and then I hear it come outta my mouth.

Tondeleo: I apologise for the long lapse in posting. Due to the poor economy my travels have been limited. I finally made it back to the US to complete some assignments and I was able to spend some pleasant time off with Doc and Marilyn and some of their friends.

I made several hours of recordings and took reams of notes so I should be able to post regularly again. Also, I was given several vids of Doc and Marilyn and their friends playing music, so I should be able to post them on YouTube soon.

One thing that I’ve noticed is the very clear disappointment that Americans seem to have with their government and the economy. I had thought it was primarily a European phenomenon, but it is widespread in America as well.

A lot of Americans blame President Obama for it and also their Congress. From what I can read, all this didn’t begin with President Obama. A lot of what they are angry about was initiated under President Bush, and President Clinton before him.

I asked Doc why he and his friends feel that socialism (they call it “communism,” by the way) is getting the upper hand.

His answer was actually well thought out and surprised me. Here it is:

Doc: Well, Tondy, I know everybody wants to be happy and the government is s’posed to make sure everyone has the chance to be happy. We learnt that in school.

But not everybody is gonna be happy. For me, I want to work and make a few dollars. I want to play music and be left alone by the government. I just want to live my life.

Other folks don’t wanna work and want the government to take care of ‘em an’ pay all their bills. Well, I ain’t wantin that. And the government don’t really have any money, ‘cept what they take from the people, which is by taxes. So really it aint the government what is payin’ those peoples’ bills, it is me an the other folk what is workin’ that is payin’ for all that.

Tondeleo: I can see where that is a problem for you: You and your friends don’t seem to make very much money in the first place…

Doc: You’re right, Tondy, an’ it’s not only the people what’s on unemployment what we gotta help support but we got wars goin’ on what is also bein’ paid for by the common man. I heard that a bomb costs about 3 million dollars. I ain’t ever gonna see that much money in my life. An’ we are payin the salary of every soldier, every general, every contractor…

An’ we are payin’ for all the ships and jet planes an’ tanks an’ all the fuel what they use! Now how we gonna do that? That’s somethin’ I’m mad about. There ain’t enough people workin to pay for all the wars and bombs and soldiers and their families. No wonder we’re outta money. I caint even pay for the fuel in my panel truck!

It ain’t the immigrants what’s makin America broke, it’s the wars, if you ask me.  

Tondeleo: Well, that isn’t marxism, or socialism, or communism. That’s just part of living in a country with a huge military.

Doc: I don’t know about all those “isms.” An’ I gotta admit, we was trained from when we was kids to share with other kids. We had to share our clothes, our toys an’ all that.

But I learnt that some kids ain’t got no toys cause they broke their toys all up an’ now they want to take my toys so they can break them all up, too. And then they gonna holler for more toys to break. Well, they ain’t getting’ mine.

I gotta few nice guitars what I either made or bought cheap, an’ I ain’t givin’ ‘em to someone what broke his or tore it up. I would more likely give it to someone what took care of his own stuff.

In fact I done that a few times – give away guitars – to people what knew how to take care of ‘em but ain’t had one ‘cause maybe he just got outta jail or somethin; an’ he needed somethin’ to help him get started. But that’s it.

I’ll help ‘em get started but then it’s up to them. I found out this. When my stomach gets close enough to my spine, I’ll find a way to make some money so I can eat. That’s all I got to say about that.

By Tondeleo Lee Thomas

It’s been a few months since I’ve updated Doc’s blog. I have been busy with work and stuck in London. I am trying to catch up on his blog over the Summer.

I have been so bogged down with work that all I could do was post some vids that were sent to me of them on Youtube, but I’ve had no time for comments or blogging.

Last week I came to the States and have been catching up with Doc and Marilyn and their friends.

When I pulled up into their driveway, Marilyn came running out of the house to give me a hug and to tell me all the things that have happened since I had seen them last.

I pulled my digital recorder out of my pocket to make certain I could capture it all.

Marilyn: Tondy! Me and Doc got a band now! We ain’t mostly playin on the streets so much and we got more inside bookins. And we got real cards, too! And we been playin’ more gospel shows which I like better and things is goin good, Tondy!

Doc: Hey, Tondy – I thought you’d dropped of the face of the earth, been so long. Figured old England had swallowed you up.

Yeah, we got a band. Well, it ain’t really a band, it’s just a bunch of people we play music with, but it’s like a band. It’s a bunch of guys I been knowin’ but we started playin’ together here an’ there an’ people like it so we keep doin’ it.

Here’s who we got. We BEEN havin’ Thurman Goodlett as our man dancer an’ he still is with us. But now we got Homer and Wendell Green from Detroit, what is also called Motown. They come down here lookin’ for work an’ money ‘cause Detroit is broke.

Wendell got a deep voice and sings back up bass and some solo stuff. He come here first and got a job and a place to live and is a real hard worker.

Homer’s his little brother. He plays piano best you ever heard in your life. I ain’t never heard nobody no better. There weren’t no money to be made in Detroit unless you already got big money behind you so Homer come down here to see what he can do. He plays with us, and plays on his own and gives piano lessons, so he’s keepin’ his head above water.

Then we got Welch Simmons from Durham, North Carolina on the drums. He is a good man what also come up here lookin’ for work. They ain’t no work down there. But he got him a job up here and a place for him and his family so he’s doin’ all right. He is a real good drummer and keeps the rhythm right and tight like they say.

It’s a lot better with the piano and drums, Tondy. It frees me up a bit to not have to carry everything. You know, like when it’s just me an’ Marilyn, I’m playin’ the guitar, and also the bass with the two bass strings on the guitar, plus keepin’ the beat with the foot box with the tambourine what’s screwed to it. Now, I can put more into the singin’ and not be tryin’ to keep track of what I’m doin’ all the time.

Me an’ Marilyn still plays by ourselves a lot, but we got the band for places that want a bigger sound. All the guys is good guys what is livin’ right and trustin’ the Lord an’ tryin’ to do the right thing.

It ain’t like the old days when I used to play with guys what would be drunk and high an’ you ain’t knowin’ what they gonna do next. Nope, these guys is straight arrows an’ that makes it better. No cussin’ and fightin’ or anything like that. These is church goin’ guys, when they can make it. It’s a lot better, Tondy, for real. Wait til you meet ‘em. They’s good people. Holy Ghost people. So it’s all good.

Tondeleo: I can truly tell the difference in Doc and Marilyn over these past few years. Marilyn has definitely grown up into a woman and Doc is more mellow and civilised, at least to an extent. They’ve cleaned up their bungalow a lot, inside as well as outside. Some of the junk cars are gone now, and his shop/garage is a bit more orderly. It is interesting for me to notice people still growing and changing as they make better choices and different friends, and are offered better opportunities. I have witnessed them going from living in total poverty and playing music on the street corners to now having some semblance of a stable, albeit still very simple life. It is interesting to watch people grow in who they are and find better lives.

But, having said all that, Doc is still pretty scrappy and rough around the edges, and Marilyn is still giggly and funny – but there is a more civilised side that is developing in both of them.

Below is a video clip from one of their Gospel gigs: The third song on here is one of the many that Doc has written.

 

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.

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: 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: In the previous post,which is from an old interview with Doc, he tells about how he got laid off his job at the plant in North Carolina, and couldn't pay his rent. He had a truck with a bad transmission that he was capable of fixing, if he'd had the $175 for a used transmission, and a place to work on it. When he could no longer pay the rent, he had to sell the truck, because it had to be moved. He only got $400 out of it, due to its having a bad transmission.

With that money, he took a bus to Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he had a friend who helped him find a job at an auto body shop. Since Doc was poor, and desperate for work, the shop owner only offered to pay him $8 an hour, with no taxes, social security or other taxes taken out, and no benefits whatsoever.

Doc said this is common for employers of small businesses when they know that a person is broke and needs a job immediately. Of course, the bus ticket cost Doc about $50, and he spent $!39 for a room for a week at a bad motel, and spent some money on groceries and necessities. So he went busking to get "walking around money" and so he could eat.

So, what happens next, Doc?

Doc: Well, like I said, I'm down there with no transportation, and the body shop is maybe five, maybe six miles away. That means I got to hitchike which I aint like doing, or walk to work. I got to leave extra early for both, cause I don't know how long it will take me to get to work. If I get there late, the boss'll think I'm lazy and might fire me. I got to allow more than a hour for gettin' to work. Better early than late.

When a man's new in town an' the boss knows you NEED that job, a lot of times he'll take advantage of your situation. Threaten to fire you, try to cut your pay, yell at you or anything he can to make you scared that you'll lose the job and then lose your room and your stuff. Some time the other workers get jealous of you if you work hard and keep your mouth shut. Some of 'em don't like anyone what aint local. They can give you a hard time. I usually can get along with most anybody, cause that is a survival tool, too, Tondy. Gettin' along.

Pretty much on that first job when you get in town, you gotta take what gets disheds out, til you get on your feet. But you need transportation to do that. Til then, you are stuck and the boss knows it and you do. You might get a boss what is a real Christian, but I aint had but two or three. Most of them is just regular and try to make a buck however they can.

So I go to work leavin' early so I can hitch a ride and take my tool box with me, and my shoulder bag. It's a lot for a man to carry. They got my body hammers, dollies, dent puller, DA [orbital sander], air file, primer gun and finish gun with me. If you aint got these basics, you aint gonna get hired no where. You gotta have tools.

Another thing. People don't wanna pick up someone what's hitchhikin' and carryin a bag or toolbox. They think you might have a gun in there and is gonna rob 'em and steal their car. The first few days, you just as well count on hitchhikin only for showin' your face to the people what drives by. After three or four days, they recognise you and then someone might pick you up or tell you to hop in the back of their pickup truck.

Now if you ever leave your tools in your room, they might get tooken, cause of the crack heads, thieves and drunks what stays at cheap motels. Plus me bein' from outta town, an' they seen me carryin' in my stuff. When I take my stuff to work, they might get tooken there, too, if the boss decides to fire me after I left for the day. Or someone may just break in the shop and steal stuff. Other employees might steal your stuff.

I ain't got no wheels, so I gotta keep my stuff with me all the time to keep an eye on 'em. I still got my guitars and little amp in my room what I'm worried about. That kind of worry is part of bein' poor and workin' hard. Bein' robbed, cheated and tooken from is regular when you're a stranger and broke.

"Bein' robbed, cheated and tooken from is regular when you're a stranger and broke."

If I had a van or a truck with a tool box on the back, I could drive to work in 10 minutes, an' keep my tools in the box, an' my guitars in the cab, locked up. And also I could play music somewhere an' pick up a couple of bucks after work. But without a truck or car, I cain't do nothin but work my 8 hours, an' that ties me up about 11 hours due to hitchin a ride or walkin. So I am more broke an' get less sleep than if I had my own wheels.

When I get back to the room, it's like 7:30 an' I have to walk down to the Gas N Go for some little cans of soup and veggies, and Vienna sausage for meat, them little hot dogs. And it costs more than it would at the Bi Lo, but I caint get there with all my tools, and still be able to carry anything, and I caint really hitch hike there, after 7:30 and then hitch hike back with groceries. It's too much. So, I pay too much for too little food, and wonder what I will do till payday. And that's just the second day in Orangeburg, Tondy. It's that way for any man what is poor and tryin' to start his life over.

I'm luckier than most 'cause I got a trade, I got tools of the trade an' I got 2 guitars an' I can sing. It's just about tryin' to last long enough to get goin' again, and get some wheels. Then it will be easier. But I will need enough for wheels, tags, insurance, fixin' whatever I can afford, cause all I'll be able to afford will be maybe $500, an' anything what costs only $500, will need a lot of work, and probably tires or a muffler or windshield. You cain't get nothing but a junker for $500.

I got to do that while payin' $139 a week, and always bein' a week away from bein' homeless, an' if I caint pay my rent, they will lock the motel room door on me an' I won't be able to get to my tools or guitars til they is paid in full. And that is every week. Even if you is sober, and got a trade, and a job, it's hard being poor.

You do the math, Tondy. I am tellin' you how it is, an' I ain't even talkin' about supportin' an old lady an' kids. Most men gots an old lady an' two or three kids, and tryin' to do all I'm doin.' Life ain't no good when you are in that kind of setup.

Tondeleo: This series of postings are from interviews with Doc Stevens when he was first starting to open up to me. Like a lot of rural Americans, he was suspicious of outsiders (meaning anyone he hasn't known for most of his life) and he was very edgy in his answers, especially, because I was taking pictures, making notes and recording his responses. The next few postings will be from these interviews more than two years ago.

Doc: You want to know how a man who aint a drunk or a druggie ends up bein' poor? They's LOTS of ways to end up poor, Tondy! Lots of ways! I ain't drink or do drugs no more, an' I work hard. I aint gamble, well ... not more than buyin' a couple lottery tickets once or twice a week. You gotta play to win. I aint never won big, but got $300 one time, an it paid my rent.

A poor man has got to play the lottery. He aint gonna make no money on the job, and aint got no prospects. If a poor man is gonna get any real money it'll have to be through that lottery. YOU ain't never been in that position.

I been workin' hard for most of my life, and I have been poor most of my life. It aint laziness, it's just what happens to a lot of folks. Some ends up rich, some ends up poor, and some of the poor ones work harder and longer than some of the rich ones. Me, I'm a hard worker. When I go to work, I work hard and keep my mouth shut.

Tondeleo: So, Doc, give me some examples of how a working man such as yourself can put in a full week's work, and not drink it away or gamble it away and still be poor. A lot of people would not understand that. They say that poverty is a result of laziness, or substance abuse or both. They think a sober working man shouldn't be poor, so you're clearly a drunk or lazy or a thief, or something. That's what they think.

Doc: You're right. And that's cause they have their heads up they's backsides, Tondy. Like when I went to Orangeburg, South Carolina a few years ago. I been living in Mt. Olive North Carolina and the plant where I worked closed down. I worked at a processin' plant an' did body and fender work on the side. The garage what I was usin' got sold to make room for a Gas N Go.

I had rent to pay and no pay check. Weren't my fault. I sold some things, kept my guitars and my tools for fixin' cars and doing bodywork, and got a bus ticket to Orangeburg, South Carolina which cost about 50 bucks.

Tondeleo: What about your own transport? No car? No pickup truck?

Doc: No truck. The trans had gone on it, and all I could get from it was $400 off a guy down the road. I couldn't afford to fix it, an' had no where to keep it, so I had to let it go. If I had money to stay where I was stayin, I coulda fixed my truck, and bought a trans for $175, an put it in myself. But I was outta rent money.

That's how it goes, when you don't have nothin. If I'd left the truck there after not payin' the rent, the land lady woulda had it towed off, an' I wouldn't have gotten nothin' for it. So 400 bucks was better n' nothin.' That's life.

Tondeleo: Why Orangeburg? How did you pick that city and state?

Doc: I knew a guy what I played in a band with over in Goldsboro, NC, an he moved down to Orangeburg. Said I could find work there and he'd introduce me to people. That's all.

So I got to Orangeburg and stayed that night with him and his old lady and their three kids in their trailer. Slept on the floor. Next day, he took me to a motel out on Rte 301, where you can rent rooms by the week. $139 a week, paid up front. Now I have spent $50 to get there and $139 for my first week's rent and I still aint bought no groceries and aint got no job.

That dirty little room at $139 a week is $556 a month, but aint got to pay no light bill. But I am always a week away from bein' homeless and them keepin' my stuff what's in the room. That's how it is when you stay in a motel. One week away from bein' homless an' losin' your stuff.

And there is the crack heads, crack whores and drunks and thieves what hangs out around them places. Your stuff'll get tooken if you aint got it locked down. An' if you're new in town, they is always someone out there lookin' for a fight. I can fight, but I ain't lookin' to go to jail, an' if you is new in town an' get into a fight, you're the one goin' to jail, cause you ain't local. So I keep to myself and don't talk much.I ain't let nobody in my room to see what I got, neither.

Anyway, I had to eat, and ate at Burger King, and then went to the Gas N Go for some deodorant, shampoo, toilet paper and some food. Guess what, Tondy? None of them things is cheap at a Gas N Go, because they sell you little packages, but it is cheaper than buying it at Bi-Lo where you gotta buy more.

Them Gas N Go places keep you poor. You get a two pack of toilet paper for $2.50. 8 ounces of shampoo for $2.25. That aint no good, but it's all you can do when you're broke. It takes a lot of money to live when you're poor.

Then I had to look for a job. Kenny took me around to the body shops in near the motel, and one of them said I could start Monday, if I'd work for $9 an hour.That aint no good, but a broke man will take what he can get, and the bosses know it. Nine bucks an hour until he sees what I can do. That means he'll pay me nine bucks an hour as long as he can get by with it. I know it and he knows it. They still charge like $45 a hour for my work, but I only get that $9 a hour, under the table.

Tondeleo: Under the table? What's that mean, Doc?

Doc: Under the table means he's payin' you straight cash, no benefits, no insurance, no taxes takin out, no record of you workin' there, no social security. Bosses tell you that's the same as makin' $14 a hour if they was taken out all that. So I guess it is.

Now what am I gonna do for WAM while waitin for the first week's pay?

Tondeleo: WAM?

Doc: WAM - Walkin Around Money. W-A-M. I need money for most everything that first week or two I am in town. Got to eat, got to buy minutes for the cell phone so if I can get hired at a better job they can call. How am I gonna get work if I aint got no phone? Minutes cost money, Tondy. I'm on that 10 cents a minute deal, but you gotta buy 300 minutes at a time. That's 30 bucks gone. I need cash for laundry, too. I aint wearin the same drawers [under pants - Tondeleo] for three or four days in a row. Aint wearin the same socks for four days. Three is my limit.

That is where that guitar comes in. I gotta go play at a open mike or find a place to do some street playing. I got to keep batteries in my amp, too, or it aint no use going out there. So I spend $8 for a four pack of 9 volt batteries. When I went to Orangeburg, all I had with me was my Telecaster and that Peavey battery amp, and that little acoustic guitar.

I hitched a ride to Broughton Street and set up there playin' for a few hours until the Public Safety cops moved me on. I made about $7 and some change. I played down in front of the Bi Lo for enough food for that Chinese Buffet. Marilyn weren't with me when I was in Orangeburg, so all I had to feed was one mouth.

Tondy, think about it. I got skills. I got tools. I got guitars an' can play an' sing, an' I ain't got no family, an I am barely makin' it at that point. And I am WHITE. A white man's got it a little easier than a black man, especially down south. I ain't gonna lie to you. If you is poor an' black, people automatically figure you're a drunk or a druggie, which you may not be.

Now think of this. What if I was a man with two or three small kids and an old lady? All of us in that motel room, an' her stayin' there with the kids whinin' all day, an' me out there tryin' to survive til my first paycheck? Am I gonna have to steal SOMETHING just to get through the week? What do you think? I'd have kids wakin' up cryin' with empty bellies and no food! Of course I'd steal something an' sell it. An' you ain't gettin' no help outta social services that first month at all. An' the churches ain't got the money people thinks they got, so they ain't no choice for a poor man with kids and an old lady but for to steal - at first, anyways.

That's the beginning of how a working man can get into poverty, Tondy. Bus fare, motel room rent, laundry mat, eatin' out cause he aint got no kitchen, and that room aint had no microwave, and waitin' a week to get paid just $350. That's all the boss is gonna come up with. I know it. And I will tell you after the first week, the boss is always tryin' to find a way to pay you less, like sayin' he had to pay his shop rent, or that a customer's check done bounced and he aint got enough for himself so how can he pay you? And, what are you gonna do about it? Nothin'. There ain't nothin you CAN do about it.

Like I say, that guitar is a lifesaver for a poor man.

Tondeleo: I've gathered together some of Doc's experiences while performing as a street musician over the years. Unlike many who are street performers, Doc is not a) homeless or psycho; b) an alcoholic, or drug addict; c) someone trying to just have fun playing. d) someone hoping to be "discovered."

He plays on the streets for money if he has a bill he can't pay. He also will play in the streets , to snare an extra gig or two if he is in a strange city and wants to prolong his time there.

Clearly, he is not well educated in the traditional sense of the word, but Doc does have a basic business sense and a very keen sense of survival, as you can tell from his previous posts on not just street performance but also basic self defense and impromptu weapons.

Here are some excerpts from a conversation where we were talking about making money while performing on the street (which we call "busking" in the U.K.). I added the bold headings.

Why are you singing in the streets is important. Doc: Like I said, Tondy, you have to have a reason to be out there that's at least a little inspirin'. Your emotions is like a magnet. You gotta have emotions about what it is you want.

Playin' guitar and singin' as such aint that inspirin'. I can go down to a nursin' home an' play for free. Me and Marilyn does that when we ain't needin' the money and we have some time. When her grandmama on her mother's side was in a nursin' home down Virginia, we'd go see her an' then play a couple sets in the big activity room there. We aint need to go out on the streets just to get a audience.

Goin' out on the streets is a hassle, an' for us, it means travel to DC if we're doin' it from home. That's more than a hour, an' more'n that if we got to catch a ride to Bryans Road which is 40 minutes an' then catch the W-19 bus, which is 15 minutes wait, and then to the Metro which is another 25 minutes and then another 20 minutes. Plus we gotta pay to do that, an then we have the same thing to get back home and have to call Bruce or someone for a ride! So we BETTER make some money out there! We aint goin out there for no $50.

Playin on the street for us is about making a few dollars and gettin' more gigs, even if it is just to come play at a local bar or club for $50 or $100. So I keep that in mind. I have to be entertainin' and lively and funny, but not crazy enough that a club owner will think I'm too crazy to have in his place. It's a ACT, not a fact, Tondy.

No Fun, No Mon. Pullin' money outta peoples' pockets is harder than you think. You won't make any money sitting on a chair and singing like a wooden headed dress dummy, with a box or open case at your feet. A lot of street musicians does that and then cry that there aint no money comin' in.

Look at the next one you see. Mostly sittin' on a chair with a box or open case and singing into space. Even folks what sings and plays like angels! Well, aint no money gonna fall out of space, or outta heaven, I can tell you that!

But you cain't be too wild an' scare people off. If they think you are a crazy drunk or druggie, you aint gonna make no money even if you are fun to watch. You'll scare 'em off cause they aint want to get too close to you.

"Here is a secret: People got money.

If you want money, you gotta have people. Period."

Improvising to get food and money. What I do is sometimes sit, sometimes stand, dependin' on the place I am at. I make good eye contact with the people and sometimes look 'em in the eye as they come toward me an' if I can I will sing about them as they come up to pass me by like... "Hey pretty lady in the bull ridin' t shirt... I know you gonna help a poor man eat... I KNOW you gonna reach down deep in your pocket an' give him at least a dollar... A WOMAN CUTE AS YOU AN' KINDHEARTED TOO..." I'll fit that right into the song, or will kind of chant it, in time to the song. If I do that an' smile an' look at the other people around, she will maybe half the time put in a 1 or a $5.

I have did that an' when I get hungry if a hot dog vendor is near sometimes I can sing or chant for "someone to bring the poor guitar man a footlong with sauerkraut and pretty soon!" Somebody is gonna do it, an' then I sing a verse about 'em as a thank you. It sets you apart from the wooden heads that feels embarrassed 'bout bein' out there or who ignore the people. You gotta interact and play with the people if you wanna make money.

Here is a secret: People got money. If you want money, you gotta have people. Period.

Priming the pump: I use different ways to get people to give money. Sometimes I make a cardboard sign what says: "Give this man some money and get him off the streets." and put that over my collection box. We gotta a draw string bag with a bicycle cable lock on it what is fastened to Marilyn's wrist. She will straight out approach people and say, "Give some money so I can get Uncle Doc to be quiet so we can go home. Even a couple of dollars... anything!"

Security. Like I said, our drawstring bag gots a cable lock on it. I got another with a pair of handcuffs on it, what goes to me or Marilyn. She carries pepper spray, a small squeeze bottle of ammonia and also a knife! And she bites! Bites like a Chihuahua, takin' bites of skin outta their arm. Bite an' pull! Bite an' pull!

I can take pretty good care of myself, and got that air about me. I weigh a bit over 200 pounds. I usually got a couple of back up tools if I need them. A studded belt or dog collar is a good one. I aint givin' away no secrets here. But there is a lot more of legal self defense tools what you can carry. They already been on this blob [blog] where I talk about takin' care of yourself.

One collection box I use has a metal handle and a dog leash fastened to it, so I aint gotta worry 'bout someone come runnin' up and scoop it up an' steel it. The handle of the leash goes 'round my ankle, so if they grab my money box, they gotta drag me along with it, an' they sure aint want that!

Tondeleo: Doc, I’m wondering if there’s anything else you can tell me about meeting women? How a out some smooth lines – can you tell me and my readers anything else?

Doc: “No. I don’t wanna talk about how you can find a girlfriend, Tondy. Not today. You’re in over your head now. Why you want a girl on each arm? A man can’t please ONE woman! So I aint talkin’ bout that for a while. Don’t even ask.

Ask me 'bout Mexicans. I can talk about Mexicans.”

Tondeleo: OK, Doc, what about Mexicans? Immigration, all that.

Doc: “Well, a Mexican is just like you an’ me. They want what we want. We just got here afore they did. Even black folks got here afore they did. Most of them din’t wanna come an' din't have no choice in the matter. Some of they’s grandchildren and great grandchildren is still mad about it and lots of them got an attitude. That’s the devil robbin’ ‘em of what COULD be a good life. Bein' mad ain't gonna bring nobody nothin' good. Black folks have a good ‘vantage over immigrants though.

First ‘cause they’s American.They is not HALF Americans, they is WHOLE Americans.They can speak English, they can work if they want; they got family here. Black folks ain't gotta run when the po-po comes! [Doc is being silly, referring to the Police - Tondeleo] They can go to school, get good jobs what pay a legal wage, an’ they have rights.

A Mexican don’t have to get minimum wage and can’t even work legal mos’ the time.

But a lot of Americans, red or yellow black and white lets their attitude stop them and they live like they ain’t no money to be made unless it’s to be made in dope or robbin’ folks. A bad attitude'll give you a bad life, no matter WHO you are. It’s just a attitude; but that attitude will kill a man after keepin’ him broke an’ miserable all his life.

But Mexicans, they’s here cause they WANT to be, so they’s attitudes different. A lot of them don’t speak the language, they aint got no people here, they left their people to come here, an’ they work hard as they can to make a good life, not for themselves but for their kids and grandkids. That’s called having a gold. They have a gold to work for. Not all them, but a lot of ‘em.

I respect anyone who will get out there and work. Specially if they work cheap, knowing they will make a life. I don’t respect a man who won’t work. That ain't no man. They should send a 'merican man who won’t work, send HIM to Mexico and keep a Mexican here who will work. That is a real man – a man who will get out an’ do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

“Havin’ poor people workin’ for a little bit of nothin’ ain’t anything new. A hundred years ago it was the Chinese who was poor an’ buildin’ the railroads and doin’ peoples’ laundry to get the chance to make a life in America. Then there was the Irish an’ the people from like Hungary and Poland. They was hard workers who was willing to prove themselves an’ work for a little bit of nothing’ so their kids could have a chance.

They’s always gotta be poor people who work hard for a little bit of nothin’. It aint that bad. My people have been poor from way back, but each generation is less poor than they’s parents. My granddaddy worked the coal mines startin’ twelve years old. But he got out. That was down Scott County, VA. My daddy worked tobacco and share cropped in North Carolina.

I always been poor an' I always work. I done all kinds of work since I was a kid. Quit school in 10th grade, but din’t quit learnin’. I cain’t write too well, but I can think clear, I can play music, I can paint a sign if you write it out what you want to say, I’ll make it real pretty, an’ I got heart.

If a man is poor but will work, his life will be full. I have lived all over the south and over to Memphis. I have worked tobacco, worked in junkyards, fixed cars, been a bouncer, been a handyman and a sign painter. I still got my old sign paintin’ truck. It’s a '50 Chevy panel truck. You name it, I done it. I have slept in that truck, lived in that truck an’ done a lot o’ things in it. It is my old friend.

I have sat on the sidewalk playin’ guitar and singin’ to feed myself and my-brother-who-died’s girl, Marilyn. That’s what America is about. They say being American is about heart, not where your body been born. A man who will work hard and not steal is an American, no matter where he is born. A man who will not work and steals or sells drugs is not an American. He is scum and needs a good whoopin’. An' I have whooped one or two.

“Listen, one time, I was playin’ guitar out on the streets with Marilyn. Playin’ my telecaster through a battery powered amp. Some young punk came to take it away from me so he could sell it for drugs. I am trying to use that thing so we can EAT.

I know one thing. He picked the wrong American man to mess with. I'd had a bad week, I was hungry an' he was threatenin’ my existance. I grabbed that guitar by the neck and BLAM! I hit him upside the head with it and then I knocked him down an’ pulled his arm outta the socket. I said, ‘Don’t pick on poor people again! You ain’t no American!’ An’ he got up an’ ran off sideways, holdin’ his arm!

All you do is grab a man’s arm when he is knocked down and pull up on it, an’ stomp your foot into his armpit. POP! It’ll come right out! Then he won’t steal for a few days. No, I ain’t never killed a man with that guitar but I have hurt a few. And I am not proud to have been put upon to do it.

Nowadays I do pray an' ask the Lord to help people give an' to keep us outta them kinds of situations. There IS a devil you know, Tondy and he lives in people.

Tondeleo: "Doc, I've been taking your advice on how to meet and talk with women. As you know, I'm not American and I live on the money I make writing, and..."

Doc interrupting: "So what, Tondy? You tryin' to say you ain't got enough money to take her out once you got her interest? A woman don't want no broke man. Don't blame her. A man needs to be able to make some money and show a woman a nice time. Hard as a woman works to get ready for a date, the man better be able to make it worth her time. What you tryin' to say, that you can't afford to take her out once you got her attention?"

Tondeleo: "Well, not exactly, Doc, and it's not just me in that situation. Plenty of young Americans are working for minimum wage and find themselves in the same situation. A person really can't live on minimum wage, much less have any kind of life, or money for dating."

Doc: "Tondy, you sound like a crybaby. Here's how it works here in America. Minimum wage ain't MEANT to be lived on! That's why they call it minimum. That means as little as possible. And so what? If you have minimum skills and cain't do nothing, or if you do minimum work, why should you be paid more than minimum? You shouldn't!

And you ain't supposed to be stayin' there. Minimum wage is the bottom step on the ladder, not a place to live, Tondy. Here in America, everybody knows that already. Even immigrants who can't speak English knows it. You start off at minimum if you can, and take what you can get if you can't. Then you start learnin' and increasin' what you is worth to the employer. As you get worth more, they pays you more to keep you from quittin' and goin' somewhere else and makin' money for them.

I ain't a rich man. As far as the world's concerned I'm a poor man. But I ain't in debt, and I don't cry about it, an' I never been on welfare. Welfare is a bad thing to give to someone who is able to work. It's bad for a person to be given money if they is able to work but they won't workin.

The Bible says if a man won't work then he shouldn't eat. It's in there. It ain't about a man who CAIN'T work, it's about a man who WON'T work. Let that man go hungry til he WILL work.

When you pay a man not to work, he gets to be afraid to work lessen he lose his benefits or SSI check. I know people like that. The years go by an' you can't really live on welfare, an' you can't make no money so a man jus' feels lower n' dirt. An' his woman got to work an' he don't feel like no man. An' he gets to drinkin' an' druggin' an' fightin' an' gamblin' tryin' to deal with is pain. That's why I have slept out on the streets rather'n be on welfare.

But, Tondy, I always been willin' to work when I was able. Sometimes I got hurt on a job an' couldn't work for a few weeks at a time, but when I could I would take my guitar an' sing on the streets an' people would gimme a little somethin' for singin' for 'em."

When I would get better, I'd look for work, an' I'd do mos' anything. I LIKE doin' body an' fender work. I like goin' to a place where all they have is young guys that ain't real body men. All they can do is replace parts, but cain't fix a panel what's been hit hard. I can do that. I can take a junk panel and can use a torch an' hammer an' dolly and beat it back to the right shape an' use just a little mud [body filler] on it. But these new boys, cain't do that.

No, I cain't fix EVERYTHING. Lookit this, Tondy: Saddest picture of a wrecked car I ever did see. A wrecked '55 Chevy convertible. Hit a tree an' pushed the motor back three feet. Frame's shot, front clip is gone an' the body is twisted. A cryin' shame. In good shape, that car's worth more than $10,000. But I couldn't fix that. I don't think no one could. A man what wrecked that, all he can do is cry.

A wrecked car is no better than a wrecked man.

I like paintin' signs. I done pretty good at that. But in some towns they ain't no body shops hirin' an' nowadays the sign shops mostly use stick on letters so they ain't hirin' any signpainters. I have took work in sawmills, paintin' houses, carpentry, plumbin' you name it.

An' I will sometimes work the first day for FREE, boy. FREE, then the boss man can tell me what he will pay me. An' I worked many days for less than minimum wage while I was learnin. Now, they can see what I can do an' I get paid 10 or maybe 12 dollars a hour, under the table, which is better 'n waitin' til the end of the week an' gettin' all those tax reductions taken out.

Immigrants understand that. They get a gold [goal] an' work toward it. They work hard an' put off havin' fun 'til they has some money. An' they's willin' to learn whatever they got to learn so they can make a life for them an' their family.

I have met a Mexican doctor who does windows an vinyl sidin.' He was a doctor down to Mexico, and came here. He started off here as a laborer 'cause at first he couldn't even do windows an' sidin' He did it for 5 dollars an hour. He didn't say he was too good to do that. He wanted a chance to make good an' he is doing it. His brother is a professor in Mexico an' is comin' to America to do windows an' sidin' for $10 a hour. Americans won't do that hard work for $10 a hour. But you come back in ten years an' those Mexicans will have their own business an' a big house an' fancy cars. An' the Americans who turn up they's nose to $10 a hour is still going to be broke an' still complainin' about it.

When I ain't got no money I ain't never asked a woman to go out. A broke man ain't got no business datin' and partyin' and all that. He needs to work and get a stablished. I would work, get a place to stay, an' a place to wash up, an' then I would ask a woman out when I could treat her right an' be able to put on the charm and make her glad she was with me and not someone else.

Minimum wage is for minimum work, Tondy. That's all they is to it.