Once again Dean has prompted a few memories with his question for today. If we've heard an exquisitely beautiful song that no one else we know has ever heard. It brought back a great memory.

Centuries ago I went to a 3 day blue-grass festival in Brownsville, NE with a few friends. We loaded up the car with a tent, a case of beer, not enough ice and a few candy bars. When we arrived at the festival as many were we set up the tent and proceeded to party to some great music. Although it was publicized as blue-grass you could find anything to suit your taste.

What we found out rapidly that the bands playing music on the stage didn't hold a candle to what was being played in the camp grounds.

By the next day the beer and the candy bars were gone, so we decided to go into town for of course more beer, ice and food. Well...Brownsville is so small it's hard to find on a map. The little family one room grocery store had been over run with people with the same idea we had. We ended up with 2 cans of Spam and a loaf of bread. Ugh. Well by that night the Spam tasted damn good roasted over a camp fire.

We crashed early that night...too much partying, Spam, and mooching warm beer. About 2am I woke up to the most beautiful music I've ever heard. The voice was rough, the guitar music was heavenly. I had to find who was making that sound. I followed the music, literally tripping over people who had just put their sleeping bags anywhere to sleep. I finally came upon a campfire with one thin cowboy leaning back against a tree singing what I later asked was "Magnolia". It seems others shared my admiration of this man. As he continued to play a banjo player came along and joined in...shortly thereafter a harmonica player.

Before this man ended his song there had to be 25 people standing around him and his campfire. When he ended the applause was deafening. Damn near woke the whole place up.

J.J. Cale wrote that beautiful song but I never found that out til years later. I never forgot that night, that cowboy or that song. About 10 years later I finally asked the right person who led me to who sang and wrote Magnolia. I bought the cassette tape at that time. Years later I finally seen a picture of J.J....now I could be wrong, I have been many times before, but I will always believe that cowboy was J.J. Makes me feel damn good to think it was.