So, back during my days jammin' at the barbershop, I became real close with the oldest of the old black bluesmen by the name of N.J. Warren... Now, me and N.J. were real close and I called him "Dad" tho he always called me "Sidewalk"... But we were tight...

So when I moved outta Wes Ginny, whewre I coud make the barbershop in 2 hours to Page County, Va., where the barbershop was now too far fir a Saturday afternoon jam session, I was invited to play at a festival at Luray Caverns... Only catch??? They wnated me to bring some "authentic" (wink, wink) bluesmen with me... So I call up DC an' arrange not only N.J. but Mike Baytopn who is a great geetarpickin' blueman...

So, the Luray Caverns Festival is a biggie and they pay real well and Mike and N.J., a couple of city boys, is, ahhhhh, lost and arguin' over the directions that I had given 'um... But we finally get them to the Cavrens and we are 'sposedf to go on stage in like, ahhhhhh, 10 friggin' minutes so...

...the Cavern peoples was doing everything to get our insruments to the stage and N.J. opens the truck of his car to get his geetar and here ya' have 20 Caverns peoples standing around to help grab stuff to get us up on stage when...

... N.J. sdrops this Fresca bottle in tghe parklin' lot and the parking lot being down hill that Fresca bottle was rollin' away at a purdy decent clip and then I here N.J.'s voice "Hey, Sidewalk, go get my bottle of shine" as he pointed towards the *Rollin'-away- Fresca- bottle*... Maybe ya' had to be there but the expressions on the faces of these Cavern's workers, who had just witnessed this entire episode, was priceless...

N.J. Warren died last year... I sho nuff miss him... He was from Tennessee and played lotta "Lightnin' Hopkins" stuff, but alot slower... "Goin' to California..."

I donno, maybe I'll talk more about N.J. in the future... I had a lot of good times being with him and playin' music with him... And I miss him terribly...

B~