Austin360 blogs > Bottlecaps & Wingnuts > Archives > 2005 > July > 14 > Entry
I’d rather drink quietly with the hippies
Today, I am 34 years old.
I’m afraid it’s not much of a landmark. I threw myself a heckuva party four years ago when the last day of my 20s coincided with Friday the 13th — a bad omen if I’ve ever seen one. I took two weeks off from work, hiked Big Bend, drank lukewarm Tecate in Boquillas (God rest its soul), saw Billy Joe Shaver at Poodie’s, and ended up with a party in Luckenbach.
The first thing I learned about turning 30 was that I could not party for two weeks anymore.
Today, I’m just thinking about the Redneck Mother.
I own six different recordings of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s song: “Up Against the Wall, Redneck” — three by Ray Wylie and three by Jerry Jeff Walker. In every rendition, that Redneck Mother is “34 and drinking in a honky-tonk, kicking hippies’ (behinds) and raising hell.”
(Apparently, according to Ray Wylie’s Web site, the band Cracker has recorded a cover of the song — but I’ve not heard it.)
Now if Willie says the rednecks and the hippies can get along, well that’s good enough for me. And I’m not sure why 34 is the definitive age for such behavior. But I assure you, any possible days of beating up anyone at a honky-tonk (never happened) or raising enough Cain to be noteworthy (not often) are long gone.
That said, I’ll be 34 and drinking in a honky-tonk tonight.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: By Dave Thomas
Comments
By scott
July 15, 2005 12:27 PM | Link to this
Happy Birthday DT, Have one for me because I am 34 and not anywhere near a honkytonk