In the early 1960s I met a fellow by the name of Jean Galland who made his way through Seattle and sang for a time at one of the local clubs before he moved on. Jean was French and he loved American folk music, which he sang with a French accent. He couldn't help it. Interestingly enough, he got turned on to American folk music by Rolf Cahn, a German immigrant who sang American (and Scottish) folk songs with a slight German accent.

Anyway, Jean had met Lord Buckley in San Francisco and he told me a couple of stories about him. He said that when he could afford to, his Lordship rode around San Francisco in a chauffeured limousine. One day he, in the limo, passed an elderly woman who was standing on the curb wanting to cross the street, but the traffic was too heavy and drivers were simply ignoring the fact that there was a pedestrian crosswalk there. His Lordship told the limo driver to circle the block. But he wanted to make a quick stop at a flower shop one street over.

As the woman stood there, despairing of ever getting across the street, this limousine pulled up and parked and a tall, well-dressed and mustachioed gentleman got out carrying a big bouquet of flowers. He offered the lady his arm and with an imperious glance as he held up a hand, he stopped traffic and conducted the lady across the street. When he saw her safely on the other side, he bowed, kissed her hand, presented her with the bouquet, bowed again, and returned across the street to his limo.

His Lordship would sometimes hold salon in his San Francisco apartment, where he would welcome a few friends for drinks and some good conversation. One of Jean's friends often attended these salons and he invited Jean to go with him. When they arrived at his Lordship's, his Lordship asked Jean what his shoe size was. He came back a few moments later with a pair of soft slippers in Jean's size and invited him to change from his shoes to the slippers. This was not to save his Lordship's carpets, it was because, as his Lordship explained to Jean, "I want everyone here to feel relaxed and comfortable." Jean notice that everyone there was wearing slippers. He also noted that his Lordship had a whole closet shelf of slippers with name-tags on them. The next time Jean came, his Lordship presented him with a new pair of slippers with his name on the tag.

That true nobility that Lord Buckley talked about; he, indeed, was well endowed with it himself.

Don Firth