Day Tripping: November 27
Experienced through Fire
When James Marshall Hendrix was born in 1942, his father Al was stationed in Alabama but denied regular furlough awarded new parents. Instead, he was placed under arrest for two months. Al was kept from going AWOL by getting locked in the stockade.
Al reunited with his wife Lucille in Seattle three years later after receiving an honorable discharge from the US Army. But struggles with alcohol prevented him from staying employed and the family suffered. Al would become violent and young James often hid in closets.
Jimi’s parents divorced when he was nine, and the court awarded Al custody of him and his brother Leon. Jimi remained quiet and shy for most of his childhood.
“I will be dead in five years’ time, but while I am here, I will travel many highways and I will, of necessity, die at a time when my message of love, peace, and freedom can be shared with people all over the world. Once you’re dead, you’re made for life.”
At fourteen, Jimi was seen using a broom to imitate a guitar by a school counselor. She wrote to a school funding organization to get Hendrix a real guitar believing he was suffering psychological damage from losing an instrument.
The social worker’s request was denied, and Al also refused to buy his son a guitar. A year later, Jimi was helping his dad at a job and found a ukelele in the garbage. There was only one string, but the boy was told he could keep the ukelele.
A few months later, Jimi Hendrix bought his first acoustic guitar for $5. He spent all his free time playing and listening to Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and BB King records. The world knows the rest.
Today is:
Pie in The Face Day — one of my favorite pastimes.
National Electric Guitar Day — that seems fitting.
Musical Ride
A private funeral for Freddie Mercury in 1991 was attended by Elton John and the surviving members of Queen. By request from Freddie, his ashes were given to his former companion, Mary Austin. She never disclosed their location.
Interesting Notes
An English chemist and apothecary named John Walker invented the friction match in 1826. Very illuminating
Gone But Not Forgotten
Phyllis Dorothy James was a successful detective story novelist featuring investigator/poet Adam Dalgliesh. P.D. James also wrote five other novels including Children of Men. She died in 2014 at the age of 94.
Notable Births
1940 — Bruce Lee: “Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.”
1955 — Bill Nye: “Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back.”
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping
