This “60 thing” has been a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Having lost one of my best all-time running buddies at the young age of 26, I made a promise to myself that I would never fret over a birthday. I have made good on that promise: However, having now begun my seventh decade, I know a lot of opportunities are just around the bend that I have not faced yet.
I”ve had to consider my “arrangements.” I”ve got a nice plot over in Rolling Fork at Mound Cemetery — high ground along Deer Creek, soil so sandy you can dig a grave with a spoon. That”s done.
I told the kids a week or so back that I don”t want to go out with a suit and tie.
No stuffed shirt
There”s a very good music site I check out on the Internet from time to time, musicfog.com. It”s an Americana site that features established, as well as up-and-coming, pickers and singers. A week or so ago, they featured Alan Jackson”s fiddle player, Shawn Camp, an artist and songwriter in his own right, performing “That Ain”t the Grandpa That I Know.” Whatever you do after church today, Google this song and take a listen.
The gist of the song is from Camp”s perspective looking down on his grandpa in the front of a church, resting in a casket wearing a suit and tie, with hymns playing in the background … when in fact his grandpa wasn”t necessarily a church-goer, wore overalls every day of his life and preferred fiddle tunes to hymns. The song reminded me so much of my granddaddy.
Back some years ago, I was part of an organization that bought in to “Malloy”s Dress for Success” and IBM”s white-shirt-only dress code, hook, line and sinker. I went to work every day in a dark suit, starched white pinpoint cotton shirt, conservative tie and leather sole shoes. I hated it!
A miracle happened for me, and more and more, dress codes started to relax … casual Fridays, that soon evolved into jeans Fridays, that I guess made business casual the new “dressed up.” Looking across the room at Rotary last Tuesday, seems that a nice pair of pants and shirt is uniform of the day — thank you, Lord.
Now, at the risk of this getting any more morbid or weird, for the record, I don”t want to spend eternity with a buttoned-up shirt and tie around my neck. In the unlikely event there is a viewing and that anybody would see fit to come, forgive me now for not dressing up.
A final thought
Before I go, indulge me one. The free press might very well be our second best freedom, right behind the one that lets me go to First Prez this morning and listen to the choir. Over the last week or so, The Dispatch has done a very good and thoughtful job of reporting on one of our financial institutions that, as everyone knows, is a touchy subject around these parts.
Whether you agree with the editorial positions or not, in my opinion, it”s great that we have a group of dedicated folks that work very hard to make sure we know the goings-on in an accurate and thoughtful manner. My hat is off to my friend Birney and his staff for a very good job of reporting on this sensitive matter.
Now, go to church, and later on watch the video. Oh — one more thing — did I mention that I also wanted to go out in my sock feet?
Roger Truesdale, of Columbus, owns and operates Bayou Management Inc. and is a semi-professional guitar player. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Roger owns Bayou Management, Inc. and is also a semi-pro guitar player.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.