Arlo Guthrie is calling it a day as far as touring and recording goes. I saw him once at the Grand Theater and he put on a very entertaining show…even for those who might have been hearing Alice’s Restaurant for the first time…or the 20th. He posted the following last week.

Gone Fishing

It’s been a great 50+ years of being a working entertainer, but I reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible. I’ve cancelled the upcoming shows, and am not accepting offers for new ones. That’s the short version. For the longer version continue reading…

As a folksinger, I never really thought much about getting older. It seemed to me that I could just continue year after year, decade after decade, singing and playing as I had done for most of my life. As the years went by, it got more difficult to keep touring, but I did it, mostly because I’d been doing it my entire life. It was the life I knew and loved.

In 2016 on April 1st, April Fools Day, I got really dizzy in the parking lot of the hotel, and started seeing as though I were looking through a kaleidoscope. That evening the show went on as though nothing had happened. I had no idea I’d just encountered a mini stroke until weeks later, when I was told about it. It didn’t appear to affect my performance, or my state of being. I continued touring for the next 4 years.

Then, on Thanksgiving Day 2019 (of all freaking days) it happened again. This time I was on my way to The Church / The Guthrie Center to help out with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner that we hold every year. I had pulled over to fuel up and realized I couldn’t continue to drive safely, as everything was spinning around, sort of like the old days, but without the help of illegal substances. I was taken to the hospital, and was under evaluation, when I broke out. I had an important gig at Carnegie Hall in New York – The end of an annual series I’d been doing for decades and it was Sold Out. I had to be there. It was imperative.

The next morning I left the hospital, took the family and headed for New York. And what a show it was! We wrapped up 50 years with a terrific evening with the entire family on stage. I really enjoyed it.

The following day I flew to my home in Sebastian, FL just as I had done for years, this time with the history of Carnegie Hall behind me. My girlfriend, Marti picked me up at the airport, and we settled into the routine of being on the river I loved. Two nights after arriving home, I awoke in the morning and was lurching from sIde to side. I knew something was wrong, and went to keep a doctors appointment we’d previously set up. The doc said “You need to go to the hospital – Now.”

So, Marti took me to the hospital nearby in Vero Beach. They kept me there for 3 days, running tests of all kinds, and essentially informed me that I’d suffered a stroke. This time was more serious, as I’d lost some ability to walk, and I wondered if if would be able to play music. I spent about a week in a rehab center to re-learn the basics, like walking. I went home after that, and began a regimen of playing guitar, walking… All the things I would need to continue touring and performing. During the entire time, Marti kept the family and close friends advised as to my progress, and took really great care of me. I needed all the help I could get. And she was there to see it done right.

By the the time our first shows began in 2020, I was at about at 80% and felt like I was improving. Then the pandemic hit. All the shows we had planned for 2020 were at first, postponed, then rescheduled and finally cancelled. My hopes for a gradual recovery onstage came to an abrupt end.

Meanwhile, I’d decided back in 2018 to move from the home in Florida. And just as I’d returned from our last gig in Tennessee, a buyer appeared, and we had a deal on the table to sell The CrabHouse. I wasn’t in any shape to go through the intricacies of selling a guitar pick, let alone a home with 30 years of stuff we’d collected. Marti ended up doing it all. She finalized the deal, and dealt with the stuff that either had to be sold, moved or thrown out. It was quite a lot. But, through garage sales, online markets, movers and friends, she’d pretty much emptied the CrabHouse of everything, and we moved into her place about a mile away.

We were there for a few weeks, before it was safe enough to return to The Farm in Massachusetts. That was in June 2020. Since then we’ve been holed up at The Farm trying to keep out of harms way, and also trying to provide some online entertainment for our friends who were, and continue to be, holed up wherever they are. My band and crew arranged a few short gigs that were filmed at The Church, but when I saw the play-back in the editing room I realized that it was not up to the standards I expected of myself, let alone the expectations that our friends and fans had come to enjoy.

A folksinger’s shelf life may be a lot longer than a dancer or an athlete, but at some point, unless you’re incredibly fortunate or just plain whacko (either one or both) it’s time to hang up the “Gone Fishing” sign. Going from town to town and doing stage shows, remaining on the road is no longer an option.

I don’t remember answering the question on the other side of that piece of paper when I was asked “Kid! Have you rehabilitated yourself?” But, the short answer is now clearly, “No!” In fact, I hope to be a thorn in the side of a new administration pretty soon. Tom Paine once wrote “To argue with a man who has renounced the use … of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead….” In other words, you cannot and should not argue with people who don’t care, or hold the caring of others in contempt. A healthy suspicion of authority, left, right or center has been the hallmark of my career since the beginning, and I will continue to poke fun at cultural, political, or personal absurdities as I see it. I’m actually looking forward to it.

I’m happy, healthy and good to go, even if I’m not going anywhere. I’ve taken back 6-9 months that I used to spend on the road, and enjoying myself with Marti, my family and friends. In short – Gone Fishing.

And we lost Jerry Jeff Walker over the weekend. He started as a folk singer in the mid 60’s but later became a seminal member of the “outlaw country” movement based in Austin Texas. Although not ass popular as Willie & Waylon, he recorded some really good records in the 70’s which included his own songs and those of his Texas contemporaries. He made very loose records that still sounded good…something harder than it seems. I particularly like the Viva Terlingua Lp which was recorded live in Luckenbach Texas in a front of a tiny crowd in a broke-down dive. I saw him once in the early 80’s, playing a bar outside in Green Bay. I think he was pretty drunk that day but it was still enjoyable

Enjoy some stuff from Arlo & Jerry Jeff…

This defines his life as well as anything else…living on your own terms…

Guy Clark wrote this but Jerry Jeff makes it his own…

Nixon or Trump? Or both….

Being Woody Guthrie’s son couldn’t have been easy…

If you put together a playlist of songs that define America…this Steve Goodman song done so beautifully by Arlo, has to be on it.

I know the Dodgers won Game 5 last night but I still can’t believe what happened Saturday. You never know when you might see something you’ve never seen before. That’s what makes baseball the greatest game in the world.

I just watched this for about the 20th time this morning and I still get chills. Phillips was hyperventilating and had to get an IV after the game. He had a resting heart rate of 140

But as Tom Haudricourt wrote…”Game 5 is why baseball folks say momentum starts and ends 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate.”

Congrats to Devin Williams of the Brewers who won the NL Relief Pitcher of the Year award.

I would think Jack Coan will have a hard time getting his starting job back after the performance of Graham Mertz on Friday night. Unless, of course, the positive Covid-19 test that Mertz reportedly had is followed up be another one. We should know today or tomorrow.

#Badgers up five spots to No. 9 in Associated Press poll. OSU at No. 3, Michigan at No. 13, IU at No. 17 and PSU at No. 18.

apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-

Also, what the hell is going on in the Big Ten…Rutgers beats Michigan State, Indiana stuns Penn State, and Purdue beats Iowa…crazy.

Why you never give up on a play…courtesy of DK Metcalf!

LEST WE FORGET THE HORRORS: A CATALOG OF TRUMP’S WORST CRUELTIES, COLLUSIONS, CORRUPTIONS, AND CRIMES

The complete list can be seen here

Something you’ll never hear on Fox News or a Sinclair station…read it here

Speaking of that…read it here

Republicans in the Senate block election security legislation…gee you would think they want to mess up the election or something. Read about it here

We talk about “projecting” alot when discussing Trump…here is another example…

BREAKING – HUGE INVESTIGATION RESULTS – Trump began tariff war w China because they wouldn’t give him better re-lender terms! Tax records show Trump tried to land China projects & failed. (from @AP)

apnews.com/article/f086bb

“Read ⁦@anneapplebaum⁩ “By talking about Hunter Biden, the Trump family…also hopes to deflect attention from their own greatest weakness, namely the amoral, kleptocratic nepotism that they embody like no family ever before in American history.”Micheal Roth

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/

An outbreak on Pence’s staff including people he meets closely with every day…he keeps traveling and will appear in the Senate today…plus Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows wants to keep the outbreak secret. These people are just the worst.

Another gem from Meadows…He now says he doesn’t think they can contain the virus…gee, ya think?

Pence tells

@60Minutes

the scientists, including Fauci, have provided a great public service… but says the president has to balance the broad interest of the “whole of the American people.”…ummm what?

What If Trump Refuses to Concede? – The Atlantic

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi

“While QAnon bitches about imaginary pedophilia rings Trump and the @GOP actually kidnap children who then ‘disappear’. And they call it a policy. If you are a trump supporter, stop for one second and imagine yourself in this situation. Humans must rise up against the predators.”-Larry Charles

twitter.com/donwinslow/sta

:Why is it ok for reporters to ask Dems if they have a socialist agenda and it isn’t ok to ask GOP if they have a fascist agenda?”Matthew Dowd

“You’re as likely to see the Republican health care plan as you are to see a giraffe saunter through the Arctic. Rip Van Winkle can wake up and it will still be two weeks away.”-Dan Rather

“Santorum just said that no one called Trump a racist before he was president. AYFKM. 50 years ago, Nixon’s DOJ accused Trump of racism, for refusing to rent apartments to Black people. Do you know how racist you have to be to get accused of racism by the *Nixon administration*?!”-Catherin Rampall

Did you have a wrestling/politics crossover on your 2020 bingo card? I know, he doesnt wrestle anymore but still…

“And there it is. Putin said today that he saw nothing criminal in Hunter Biden’s past business ties with Ukraine or Russia, in a sharp break with Trump. With Trump’s re-election unlikely, Putin’s got no more use for him.”Brian Cohen

I see some Women For Trump signs around the Wausau metro area. Can someone explain how any self-respecting woman can vote for this guy? Much less put a sign in their front yard advertising the fact?

Image may contain: 1 person, text that says 'Robert Reich @RBReich Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed just 30 days after being nominated. Imagine if McConnell was this swift about getting desperately needed relief to the American people.'

Image may contain: text that says '"Agree to disagree" is reserved for things like "I don't like coffee. Or, "camping is the best. Not racism, homophobia, and sexism. Not human rights. Not basic human decency. It's not just a difference in opinion, it's a difference in morality. That's what needs to be looked at. @alisongroder'

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“Good Night America, How Are Ya”

LEST WE FORGET THE HORRORS: A CATALOG OF TRUMP’S WORST CRUELTIES, COLLUSIONS, CORRUPTIONS, AND CRIMES

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