Daily Blues & Views

 When I first heard the news, one image emerged in my mind. I saw my neighbors house and then the back bedroom that my neighborhood friend shared with his older brother. There, on top of Ricky’s dresser was what I was most excited to see. It was a 45 copy of Jerry Lee Lewis’ mega hit Great Balls of Fire. We had to wait for Ricky to return before we could beg and plead with him to play it for us. I lived the records label The gold and brown colors on those original Sun records really popped. Jerry Lee was something we’d never seen before. Like Elvis, he was colorful, mercurial and completely unpredictable. It was like a guilty pleasure. This was no Pat Boone. If Jerry Lee appeared on TV, all hell broke loose. Something was happening to the post war culture of this country and as teenagers, we were right in the middle of it. It didn’t take long for Jerry Lee to establish himself as a rock and roll bad boy. Marrying his 13 year old cousin sealed the deal. But with his fellow musicians...

 Woody Guthrie once told an audience:      "High prices! You talk about high prices, I went into my store to buy some eggs and the man charged me 59cents for a dozen.  I went in a week later and the price was 63 cents.  So I went in there today, and he charged me 79cents for a dozen.  I  went in there  today, and  he was there, but this time he had his money up on the shelf and his eggs was in the cash register!" Funny, but not too funny today as we seem to be experiencing the same kind of encroaching price rises with everything from a gallon of gas, to a quart of milk.  Don't even think about the cost of a college education.   In my lifetime, I recall what some prices were as a kid and then a teenager, and then growing into an adult.  I'm almost embarrassed to say what I paid for my college education from one of the finest universities in the country.  Usually, I only say that I paid for it myself by working sum...