This article, written on a rainy Saturday morning in Windsor Missouri, reminds me more of Baxter Black than the features I usually write. Do you remember Readers Digest from years ago? We read “Humor in Uniform”, “All In A Day’s Work”, and “Life In These United States.”

That’s how our country town of 3000 was this past week. The weather was nice, and I opened the doors and windows to our retail store. As I played songs by Tracey K. Houston for a future article, the music seemed to attract attention. People came in to the store just to visit.

I was also reviewing Red Steagall’s CD “Here We Go Again” that arrived in the morning mail. More people came by to visit. We had a full pot of coffee.

At the computer I arranged tracks of Tracey K. Houston and Red Steagall, and started the playback. More people came by to visit, browse, and have coffee.

Tracey started singing “Let’s Put The Country Back In Country Music” and Red came back with “Freckles Brown.” As Red started with “Then Pete announced that in chute two…” somebody asked about our trip to Kansas City for a Sunday afternoon of bull riding at the Sprint Center.

When someone reminded me that Willies Place was usually playing when he came in, I said is isn’t playing any more. Eddie Kilroy and Catfish are gone from Willies Place, and it just isn’t the same.

We all know each other. The town isn’t very big. We used to sit around the restaurant together. It isn’t the same either. The restaurant decided to become a non-smoking establishment.

With the wisdom of an old country farmer and rancher, one old man spoke up. He simply said “We could still listen to Willies Place, or stop smoking for 30 minutes at Raymonds, but we just don’t want them to be the ones telling us to do it.”

I think he hit the coffin nail right on the head. I’ll buy him a glass of Geritol on the rocks for that little gem. Today’s ‘take it or leave it’ attitude gives us an option, doesn’t it?

True country music has been around for years, and if we don’t support the artists who keep it alive we will lose it.

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