The Man In Black

Today is Johnny Cash's birthday. He would have been 78 today. Sarah and I are really into our music and the ones who gave it to us, so today Johnny's music is playing non-stop on the Ipod thingy. We do that for Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley on their respective birthdays. Oh yeah, and I'm wearing black today.

My Mom is from Mississippi, so despite migrating North to New Jersey by way of Kentucky with my British father, she lost her accent, but not her love of country music. I grew up hearing country music on our little white kitchen transistor radio. It was always playing, as far as I remember. When I was 9 years old, I saw the movie, "The Gospel Road" at our church. It was a very-70s movie narrated and produced by Johnny Cash on the life of Jesus. I loved it! I fell in love with that blond-haired, blue-eyed Jesus, as well as with Johnny Cash. I never got to see him in concert, but I saved up and bought some of his albums and listened to them religiously. I appreciated his struggles-- I struggled a lot myself. I loved his honesty and real-ness. He loved Jesus and God, but he was a rough guy who had a lot of demons that hounded him. I think his struggles with addiction and all that came with that, made him much more compassionate to those who lived on the hard-living side of life. So I grew up learning about Jesus in Church, yes, but always with Johnny's music in the background, reminding me to love everybody and to give them a break. To look for the light in the eyes of someone who hides it pretty well, and especially in those who you'd never see in church. I could relate to his theology, and it seemed to be pretty in line with Jesus. I think Jesus is a Johnny fan. How could he not be?

Another thing I like about Johnny Cash is that he was just a regular guy, and he didn't get off on success, in fact, he was kind of embarrassed by it. He just wanted to sing and play music. He got dumped by his record label because he wasn't producing at the level they wanted, so he knew betrayal. He knew about not fitting in, and he certainly didn't rise to the status quo. He didn't like people using people.

I listen to his music to be with a friend I never met. I've always loved Cash and deeply respected him. I don't know how heaven is set up-- if you get to meet all these people who were celebrities in their former lives. I'd like to think that Elvis and Johnny are jammin' with Jesus and letting anyone who wants to sit and listen. I guess we'll have to wait and see, huh?