OT: Les Ford. RIP

[David Nebenzahl]

On 8/17/2009 5:52 PM HeyBub spake thus:

Excuse me: Bob Dylan respected and trusted the cops?!?!?

Read the lyrics to "Subterranean Homesick Blues":

Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine I'm on the pavement thinking about the government The man in the trench coat, badge out, laid off Says he's got a bad cough, wants to get it paid off Look out kid, it's somethin' you did God knows when but you're doin' it again You better duck down the alley way lookin' for a new friend The man in the coon-skip cap in the big pen Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten.

Maggie comes fleet foot face full of black soot Talkin' that the heat put plants in the bed but The phone's tapped anyway Maggie says that many say They must bust in early May orders from the DA Look out kid don't matter what you did Walk on your tip toes don't try 'No Doz' Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose Keep a clean nose watch the plain clothes You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.

Get sick, get well, hang around an ink well Ring bell, hard to tell, if anything is goin' to sell Try hard, get barred, get back, write Braille Get jailed, jump bail, join the army, if you failed Look out kid, you're gonna get hit But users, cheaters, six-time losers Hang around the theaters, girl by the whirlpool Lookin' for a new fool, don't follow leaders Watch the parkin' meters.

Ah get born, keep warm, short pants, romance, learn to dance Get dressed, get blessed, try to be a success Please her, please him, buy gifts, don't steal, don't lift Twenty years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift Look out kid, they keep it all hid Better jump down a manhole, light yourself a candle Don't wear sandals, try to avoid the scandals Don't wanna be a bum, you better chew gum The pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles.

Now, there are probably lots of ways to parse this, but I'd like to know just where you see "respect and trust for the cops" in here.

Besides, Gates did nothing to deserve what the cops did to him; he simply committed the crime of expressing his displeasure to what was being done to him by a white cop.

[cavelamb]

Excuse me?

Where the heck were you in the 60's???

[John Grossbohlin]

Mustn't have been listening to Canned Heat either...

[Lew Hodgett]

You have to do a little better than above to attract even the minimum value troll.

Better luck next time.

Lew

[notbob]

Even smart white people know better than to dispute who's in authority in a cop vs perp showdown. At least I do. A cop will beat you into the ground or shoot you dead to make you're aware of who's really in charge. I don't care who you are, white, rich, black, poor. If you don't know that about cops, you don't know spit. I suggest reading The Nake Ape by Desmond Morris.

nb

[HeyBub]

It was JOKE son! But the Dylan episode does illustrate the maxim that the older one gets, the more conservative they become. Usually.

Right. He committed a crime.

In an earlier time - and a different place - he would have been charged with Sedition, Anarchy, and Insurrection, a non-bailable offense that carried an automatic death penalty.

Gates skated.

[HeyBub]

I got a couple of nibbles... I'll do better next time.

[Dudley Hewitt Squat]

He had a temper too. I saw him play once at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood, c. 1971 or 1972. There was a heckler in the crowd, sitting at the front row of tables. Mr. Atkins put his guitar down, walked across the tables, and proceeded to hit the guy with his fists.

Good times, good times.....

[notbob]

Now there's a side I never saw. OTOH, them Tennessee boys also don't play. ;)

nb

[HeyBub]

Heh! Could have been completely altruistic. A few years ago, I bought a used truck with, unknown to me, a broken gas gauge. Well, it runs out of gas at

9:30 p.m. (in front of a Home Depot). As I stand beside it kicking the fenders, a Constable pulls up, asks whats wrong, and the following conversation ensues:

Constable: "I'll be glad to give you a courtesy lift to the gas station."

Me: "I'd really appreciate that. Thank you."

Constable: "You'll have to ride in the back -- my front seat's full of school books."

Me: "That'll work. Any old port in a storm."

Constable: "Before I let you in the car, I have to ask, are you carrying any weapons?"

Me: "Yes. I have a five-shot revolver in my back pocket."

Constable (taking a step backward): "You're kidding! Right?"

Me: "No, but on second thought I think I'll walk to the station. Thanks anyway."

Constable (with priceless look on his face): "Do you have a concealed handgun permit?"

Me: "Sure."

Constable: "Let me see it." (He looks it over, front and back.) "We don't see many of these...."

Me: "Duh!"

[Robatoy]

Cop: "Can I help you with anything, sir?"

Stranger: "Nope, just wandering around."

Cop: "What is your name?"

Stranger: "Bob Dylan."

Cop: "and my name is Dick Tracy. Get in the car, smart-ass."