David Lynn Jones: Kith and Kin
David Lynn Jones
- First from Right -
2006 Americana Music Conference and Awards
Wayne, Chip Taylor, Steve Popovich, Steve Popovich, Jr., and David Lynn Jones
- From Left to Right -
I got home from church today and hadn't blogged this morning because the adapter to my internet connection had gone out, but I immediately found something for today's blog topic because Mr. M. Shane Klein, a cousin to David Lynn Jones, had visited my most recent blog entry concerning this extraordinarily talented musician and had left a message:
Hello Mr. Hodges, I have been reading your threads concerning David Lynn with interest. I was searching for a way to purchase David Lynn's music for my ipod and stumbled onto your MySpace page . . . or site . . . or whatever (forgive me, I'm not all that adept in the cybersphere). Anyway, my mother is David Lynn's cousin. My grandmother (sweetest woman that ever walked the earth) was David Lynn's mother's sister. I think I saw mention of Uncle Arch in a post along the way . . . that would be my grandmother's brother. I remember seeing Uncle Arch dance a jig when I was a small boy. We were at a concert where Aunt Hazel (David Lynn's mother's sister) was playing piano and her husband, my Uncle Thurl Cochran was playing fiddle. Music runs rich in that family.Hello, Mr. Klein. You've stumbled onto what is known as a "blog" (abbreviation for "web log"), and you are very welcome here. If you're still looking for David Lynn's music for your ipod, you might check Amazon.com, for I've seen his music on sale there.
Yes, you did see your Uncle Arch mentioned, and if you search this blog for "Grandpa Archie," you'll find a few more mentions, including this one. He was my step-grandfather," having married my paternal grandmother sometime after Grandpa Hodges died from injuries incurred in a tree-felling accident.
Grandpa Archie was phenomenal. He was wirey, strong, in excellent health up to his 90s, and could outrun me even when he was in his 70s. He must have been a quarter Cherokee and kept a thick shock of hair his entire life! It did eventually turn white, though. He used to show me fox, deer, and even bear tracks in the sandy soil around the farm where he and my grandmother lived. And he could make a whistle from a stem and a leaf. I bet that Uncle Cran could fill you in on how Archie did it. It was pretty simple, as I remember, but I still don't quite recall the precise details.
As for the various people whom you mention, including the ones below, they are all very familiar.
I live in Iowa. My grandmother, Laudine Dillinger, of Bexar married Otis Felts of Wheeling and moved to Iowa together to farm and raise their family in the 40's. However, my mother, Cassie, and my Uncle Ed spent many summers with David Lynn when they would go down to visit their kin in Arkansas. My parents took us to visit the Aunts and Uncles in Arkansas many summers too. I last visited the area fairly recently for the funeral of my beloved Aunt Opal Dillinger (married Hayden). I didn't see David Lynn, but his daughter was there and sang beautifully at the funeral.David Lynn sang at Grandpa Archie's funeral, I'm told, for I wasn't there, but my brother John performed the service. I heard his daughter sing at John's church in Salem last February.
Well, just thought I would say hi to you all. M. Shane Klein, IowaThank you very much for visiting, Mr. Klein.
P.S. There is no reason to doubt the identity of the man in the video on myspace. That is David Lynn. (Although I see his profile says that he is 104 yrs old?!) I see you can buy music directly from the site. Of course, if there is someone out there malicious enough to try to steal his identity, I guess the video and music could all be pirated. Crazy world, this cyberspace.Thanks for confirming the photo. As for stolen identities and pirated video and music (though I believe that the MySpace site is merely a photo and an audio), we'll find out for sure if and when my brother John visits David Lynn in Cave City.
Meanwhile, all of you fans, kith, and kin of David Lynn Jones, feel free to leave a comment.
Labels: David Lynn Jones, Family, Friends
posted by Horace Jeffery Hodges @ 2:55 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
I well remember both David Lynn Jones and my stepfather, Archie Dillinger. My father died when I was age two & a half. My memories of my father were more like dreams, just brief excerps. Mom kept us kids together, remaining single for ten years.
Then she met Archie, they were married, and he became basically the only father my sister Virginia and I really knew. Virginia was only five months old when dad died.
Archie was a good man. He & mom were married for forty years. He wasn't afraid of anything. I'll just mention one incident. We had a neighbor, who I won't name, who had a reputation as a knife fighter. In fact, he cut up a drunk who picked a fight with him, and the man nearly bled to death before they got him to a doctor.
This neighbor tried to encroach his fences on neighbors, and did so to one family. Not long after Archie & mom married, this neighbor sent a logging crew to cut timber off a piece of ground of ours. Archie ran them off. In Viola a short time later, Archie was sitting at one of the store fronts with some others. This neighbor came by, Archie confronted him and told him to keep off our land. The man pulled out his knife. Archie told him, "If you don't want to have to pull that knife out of your *** you better stick it back in your pocket." He did, and they never had another problem. Archie's driving habit was unique, He drove 35 mph an hour, whether on a gravel road, or the highway, keeping the left tire on the center line. Your brother John was riding with him, and said, "Grandpa Archie, what if you meet a car?" Archie said, "Somebody has to give."
David Lynn sang at both Mom's and Archie's funeral. He is a talented writer, singer, pianist and guitarist.
Cran
Thank you Mr Klein, Jeff.
And you too Cran.
I think we're getting somewhere now. More like a real somewhere.
JK
Uncle Cran, thanks for the anecdote about Archie. I always knew that he was a good man. He was also a very sweet man, in a quiet, humorous way. I just never knew that he was also that courageous . . . but I always felt safe and protected with him in spite of his not being particularly large.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
JK, yes, we are getting somewhere. I hope that David Lynn is, too.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
JK
We have been in a real somewhere, except possibly for you, who may live in another of your own.
Soon, after I have picked the scabs from my wounds, I plan to regale my 'friends' with another true and accurate story, at least as I 'remember' it.
Cran
Well Cran,
Since it's a "new world everyday, at least as I remember it" or words to that effect, I'm looking forward to any further submissions on your part.
As far as my own realities go, though they do not allow me to "wake up in a new world everyday", I still am able to experience Tralfamidor.
Shouldn't you be in church?
JK
I was waiting for Jeffery or Jeanie to clock in, but I will reply.
We had only sunday school this morning, so I was home early. Thank you for your concern.
My brother Bradley once was interested in David Lynn's sister Bonnie, but they never became an item. She had a rocky marriage, and David wrote a song about her, called either "little Sister," or "Bonnie Jean." I think it was the former. It became a hit. David wrote for Willie Nelson, and his song "Living in the Promise Land" became one of Willie's hits. I don't know what he is doing now.
Now back to my world, "somewhere out there."
Cran
JK,
I think it is Tralfamadore, spelled with all a's.
Jeanie
I saw Willie Nelson in a small venue and he talked about DLJ and the song, Living in the Promised Land. I believe that he came up here and visited. If I am wrong, then maybe Willie or DLJ will read this and send a correction.
I am a semi retired minister. The small country we attend only has a Sunday morning service, where I lead singing, and teach an extended sunday school class. On Sunday evenings we attend a church in Bakersfield, MO.
JK, now that I know your real identity, hopefully we can meet in another time warp; in the meantime I will only say, "God bless you, Mr. Rosewater."
Cran
I didn't know that Brad-dad was once interested in David Lynn's sister Bonnie.
I might not have existed!
Or I'd have been completely different . . . which amounts to about the same thing.
But there's ever a concatenation of events leading up to how things just happen to be.
For instance, if I hadn't been reading Robert Musil's Man ohne Eigenschaften way back in 1992, my children wouldn't exist today.
Miracles in the mundane...
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
In a previous Blog comment I relayed my two memories of DLJ's beautiful music.
Now, I will relay two or three stories about Grandpa Arch.
We (myself, wife, Grandma Nora and Grandpa Arch) were sitting in the living room late one night when Archie turned his head, listened intently to something, arose and proceeded outside without a word. Shortly the front door opened and Archie walks in, one arm behind his back, grinned and thrust a neck held live possum straight out for all to see. He explained he heard a ruckess in the hen house. I have a picture of old Arch standing there with the critter, and, well, he's grinning like a possum.
Secondly, years ago, I took little brother Scott (a college freshman)to the farm for a week. While there we contributed to the woodpile, with Archie doing the cutting, us trying to split and stack, did a little fishing and ate them out of house and home. While there we headed to town in Archie's black hand brush painted pickup. We headed down the lane, round the curve and down the hill toward the branch, and this pickup was rapidly gaining speed with Archie frantically clutching and going through the gears. I looked toward Archie, noticed mid seated brother Scott's sudden large eyeballs, and tried to calmly ask why he didn't use the brakes. The answer, "ain't got any, haven't had any for a long time". And so we continued to Viola and back.
In later years that pickup carried license tags with an outdated year sticker. I ask why no renewal, Archie's reply was "the tax went up a dollar and I ain't gonna pay it".
Another time years ago, the wife and I took Grandma Nora and Grandpa Archie to the Salem singing, note here that it was darn good music by local folks, and I can vouch for Archie's dancing ability, even twirling around a little with Grandma and my bride. I even thought Grandpa Arch had perhaps located a little moonshine the way he twirled around.
And wife Cheryl still remembers us arrving for a visit and Archie's quick pace (even in later years) heading her way. Once there he give her his big hug and going for the welcome kiss would leave scratch marks from his two day old whiskers.
I've lots of good memories of both grandparents. Good people and characters, both of them.
Now, to our Uncle Cran's fishing/turtle tale, lightning strike tale and upcoming bear story. I believe the first two, however, if he comes up with some hare brained snake story about rattleheadedcoppermoccasins, I'll suggest he was a little touched by Arkansas "Fan Death" when electricity arrived at the farm and the Flora community in, I believe, the early 50's. Or he got a little brain toasted from hours sitting under the single, center ceiling mounted light bulb or got the neck noosed by the lightbulb's pull string hanging down.
And one word on our Grandpa Horace. Dad once told me "if you like Woodrow, you'd have loved my Dad.
Will wait for more tales from you both.
Cousin Bill
Bill, I remember that brakeless pick-up truck. Thanks for the anecdotes.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Cran?
You write, "The small country we attend only has a Sunday morning service..."
If we do plan a get-together, will I be required to update my passport? But if it's to be a time warp I don't guess I'd have to bother.
Oh and your admonition as to my spelling methodology? I received an e-mail that admonished me further. I stand corrected. I did drop an "E."
Yes JeaniE, all "a's": check.
JK
Small country {church} as I also stand corrected, no passports required, just decent and hopefully clean clothing.
I will now leave this blog and return to my world 'out there.'
Cran
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