By Stan Hitchcock

It’s been raining again in Tennessee.  One of the wettest falls in memory.  As I sit here on the front porch of our old farm house,  watching the water run down to join our creek on its journey to feed the mighty Cumberland River, I think of friends, past and present.  Some I miss, some I still enjoy, but, all I appreciate......

I remember the taste of an ice cold Grapette, lifted out of the old soda box full of big hunks of ice broken up, at the old country store up the road and on top of the hill a mile from our farm. The old soda box sit on the creek gravel concrete slab front porch of the   old store and the store owner would chip up a 50 pound block of ice every morning to keep the pop cold for when we boys came out of the hay fields at the end of another hot September day.........

Friends,

You can go to this link and hear one of the stories from my book, "At The Corner Of Music Row, And Memory Lane": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUb7Diy6U6M

This is the story of my first night on the Opry in 1961 and the lessons I learned that night.  

Stan

Well, with the Spring warmup Reno and I just couldn't stand staying in the offices of Hitchcock Enterprises and BlueHighways TV last Thursday.  It was hitting 75 degrees on Old Hickory Lake just a couple of blocks from the offices and the water had warmed up to 62 degrees....perfect bass fishing conditions.  We loaded up our equipmenty in my Bass Tracker and stopped by the convenience store to let Reno go buy 20 pounds of junk food and sandwidhes and headed out to put the boat in the water.  It was a beautiful clear Spring day.  Sure, I had noticed the Weather Channel said there was a 20 percent chance of strong storms later, but shoot there wasn't a cloud in the sky so why worry?

Denise and I were leaving Church yesterday morning in Gallatin, Tennessee when Ferlin Husky's daughter came up to us and said, "Daddy's pretty sick in the hospital in Missouri, would you pray for him?"  Yes, of course we pray for our friend who has long been one of my heroes.  Ferlin and I have been friends for almost 50 years and I love him.  My brother, Sam, then called me this morning from Springfield, Missouri and said, "Ferlin is in St. John's  hospital here in town."  Well, I knew that wherever Ferlin was, Leona Williams would be by his side.  I dialed Leona's number and sure enough she answered sitting by Ferlin's bed.  She told me that Ferlin had Pneumonia and Congestive Heart Failure and was pretty weak.  She put the phone down where Ferlin could hear and speak and he said, "I love you Stan, let's do a show when I get out of here."  That's all the wind he had left to say so we left it on that musical promise.  Ferlin, when you get out of there we'll do as many shows as you want to!  Remember this great man of music in your prayers cause he sure is one of the good ones. 

Stan