The sweat was pouring off my face as I braved the July sun on the banks of the Ohio River. But I was waiting on a friend, so a little bit of discomfort was worth it. I realized that I should at least walk up to Harris Riverfront Park and find a little shade as refuge from the ninety plus degree heat. But I was too busy scanning the Ohio River looking for my friend. While I realize that most of my friends would arrive by boat and be easy to spot, my friend AJ was not exactly like most of my friends. Well, in fact, he was not like any of my friends.
The water in the Ohio River was looking like an oversized glass of chocolate milk. This Summer brought plenty of rain with it. The banks had swollen and the result was a muddy tint to the river.
Debris bobbed up and down in the muddy river. An old tire came trucking by and following it up the river was a log. Well, it appeared to be a log at first, but as it got closer, it’s appearance changed slightly. It looked like it had a black cowboy hat on it. Suddenly, a big smile broke out on my face as I realized that this was not a log but my friend Alligator Jackson!
AJ started swimming to shore as I ran down to greet him. In front of the bank where AJ was heading was a well……in order to try to be politically correct……an intoxicated underprivileged unemployed person who was putting his final touches on a bottle of Mad Dog.
I startled to chuckle because I could see where this was heading. Alligator Jackson would emerge from the water and the er…well….homeless person would no doubt discard his bottle and go running for cover while shouting “I just saw a walking, talking alligator….I’ll never drink again.”
To my surprise, there was a different outcome. AJ bounced enthusiastically out of the water and began walking on two legs. He had a white shirt, black vest, and of course, his trademark black cowboy hat. I was stunned as I watched the drunken older man approach Alligator Jackson.
The old wino did not run, yell, or faint. In fact, he calmly looked at Alligator Jackson and said, “Buddy, can you spare some change?”
AJ, glad to be out of the water, said, “Wish I could help ya, but my wallet fell out way back up river.”
“You cheap green bastard,” the drunk yelled. “How’s a feller sposed to get drunk, without a lil’ help. You go back home you Puff The Magic Dragon wanna be. Cheap ass!”
“Nice welcome committee!” AJ laughed as he seen me approaching. “I expected a parade or something. And got Otis the drunk. He didn’t even save me a drink and I’ve been swimming for miles.” AJ laughed again and he noticed the man throwing down his now empty wine bottle.
“Great to see ya,” I beamed to AJ.
“Missed me, huh?” Alligator Jackson smiled.
I laughed, “Well, actually I was happy you were here because now I could get out of this heat.”
“This ain’t nothing compared to the swamp. One might say it’s kinda chilly out here today,” AJ responded. “But not to say that just because I was in the water, means I’m not dehydrated.” AJ added a wink.
“Then, I suppose you wouldn’t be offended if I say you look like a gator that could use a cold one.”
“As long as ya gotta be over 21 to purchase that cold one, then, well of course I wouldn’t be offended.”
“Well, I know just the place and it’s just a few blocks over.” We walked to my gray Equinox and quickly tucked his tailed behind the seat. I know thwe ignition and “Liquid Courage” came jamming’ on.
“Now there’s some motherchompin’ rock and roll. Yeah, crank it up! Chomp On!” Gator was excited as I cranked up his biggest hit “Liquid Courage.” The guitars were screaming as I pulled up two blocks later in front of Jake’s.
The cold air popped us right in the face as we entered the bar. A loud booming voice exploded as we entered the bar. “I can tell that feller’s a Marshall fan by how green he is.” This was followed by a series of loud cackling laughs.
“AJ this is John Black. He used to own this place. John, this is Alligator Jackson.”
John started cackling again. “You just get off from Camden Park.”
“Actually, I just swam up from Florida.”
John’s laugh was echoing around the bar. “David, I always get a kick out of the characters you bring in here. I don’t know where you found this guy at. But I like his black cowboy hat. So your from Florida, so I guess you’re a gator fan.” John laughed some more.
It would kind of look that way, huh? Got any Crocweiser here?”
“Crocweiser” John’s laugh cackled some more. “This guy really gets into character. You must be a great actor.”
The bartender walked up. “No Crocweiser. But we have Budweiser.”
“That’s a close second to Budweiser. Chomp me up a nice cold one, would you maam?”
AJ received the beer and took a big swig! “Now that’s an ice cold beer!” He said with a reptilian burp. “Marshall Thundering Herd.” He said admiring the Marshall decorations in the bar.
“AJ” I said. “Marshall has quite of a history. In fact, Huntington has quite of an impressive sports and arts culture for a town it’s size.”
“They purty good in football, huh?”
“Well, there’s a lot of bigger schools like your Gators that have accomplished a lot. But, Marshall’s feats are more impressive because they don’t have the stature of Florida.”
“Kind of like it’s easier to be successful because everyone knows who you are like big bands and record labels.”
“Exactly, it’s harder for smaller schools to get recognition but Marshall has done it. Are you familiar with the movie “We Are Marshall?”
“No. It ain’t too easy for a gator to get into a movie theatre.”
“Well, the entire 1970 team was among seventy-five people who died in a plane crash. Supporters, reporters, and coaches were also lost. They recently made a big Hollywood movie honoring those people. In fact, let’s go for a ride.”
We got in the Equinox and drove to the Memorial Student Center Fountain. We walked over and I said. “Each year on the anniversary of that fateful day - November 14 – a memorial service is held, which includes the traditional laying of the wreath. Then the water is turned off until next spring.”
“That is truly a beautiful work of art.”
“Yes, it is, AJ. It is more than 13 feet high and weighs 6,500 pounds. The fountain was created by sculptor Harry Bertoia. It was his hope that the fountain would "commemorate the living - rather than death - on the waters of life, rising, receding, surging so as to express upward growth, immortality and eternality."
We walked to the statue. AJ read the inscription:
"They shall live on in the hearts of their families and friends forever, and this memorial records their loss to the university and to the community.”
“It always brings tears to my eyes to hear that. Marshall football struggled for a few years but emerged to become the most successful football program in the 90s. They even won the I-AA National Championship in 1996.”
“More wins than Florida?”
“Florida State, too. They produced 2 outstanding pro quarterbacks - Chad Pennington and Bryon Leftwich. They both were first round picks in the NFL draft and won a lot of games. Pennington’s playing in Florida with the Miami Dolphins and Leftwich is with the Steelers. Randy Moss has had a Hall of Fame career and is with the Patriots. Troy Brown has three Super Bowl Champion rings with the Patriots. Marshall has produced other players who have had prolific careers in the pros. In basketball, Hal Greer was a big Herd star and was later elected to the NBA Hall of Fame.”
“Sounds like the community has a lot to be proud of and it sounds like Marshall is loved by the community!” AJ said with pride and respect.
“It works great. A great marriage. Marshall provides a lot of jobs and the customers Marshall brings in helps keep the economy kickin’. And of course, Marshall is a great source of education and it’s great that Huntington and other area’s students have a college in their own backyard.”
“Chomp On! That’s great”.
“Plus, it enriches the area culture. It provides a nightlife and provides a diverse culture. There are many foreign students that come to Marshall. Plus, the music rocks!”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
“There’s been some great bands coming out of this area like Bobaflex, Hydrogyn, American Minor - have all done well nationally. There are many more upandcomers like Bud Carroll and The Southern Souls, Ricky Huckaby, and Jeff Ellis. Kid Rock used to play here regularly before he hit it big. Now, he comes back and plays the big house - the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.”
We were back in the Equinox and I drove by RT Champs. I looked at AJ who was downing a beer and said: “That used to be the house Billy Ray built”.
“Hannah’s dad?”
“Yep, it used to be a bar called the Ragtime but it burned down. It wasn’t as nice as RT Champs but it has it own’s atmosphere. It was Billy Ray and the Players. It was before Achy Breaky. The girls would line up to get in and of course the guys would line up to be close to the girls.”
“A lively, chompin’ place, eh? Sounds like my kind of swamp.”
“He rock the place with cool covers of Rock and Roll by Zep, Victim of Love by the Eagles, Rebel Yell by Billy Idol and plenty of Skynyrsd.”
“So the Achy Breaky boy is a southern rocker at heart?”
“Yep, he could rock. He played “could have been Me”, “Achy Breaky Heart”, “Where’m I Gonna Live”, “Some Gave All”,and “She’s Not Crying Any More” way before they became hits. He also played songs that were very good but have become lost in time because he never recorded them. They were “Remember”, “It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over”, “Babysitter” and a rocking version of “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”
“Sounds like a swampkickin’ good time. So Hannah’s daddy rocked Huntington?”
“He sure did. We’ll drive by first street. There used to be a bar called Cody’s and then First Street Station. A band called Zachariah used to play here.”
“I know what yer getting’ at. Remember I have done of version of “Ol Cheap Wine.”
“Yes, I told you a little about this then. Zachariah’s drummer was Steve French. Steve played in another local band named Cash, where he was also the vocalist. But, he is now Billy Ray’s drummer. Also, in Zachariah was a local legend named James Michael Murphy. He was a killer songwriter. He wrote “Ol’ Cheap Wine” and “Broken Man.” He wrote other great songs but you can go into any local bar and the band playing will probably do one or the other or both. Or they may even do “applacian Lady.” Billy ray recorded that one but never released it. Larry Pancake, another local singer does that one as well. There are several bands that have done Ol Cheap Wine including you, AJ.”
“Yep, I love that one. A true classic.”
"There's Eagle Distributing. There provide all of the great Budweiser products. I wrote Beer Truck in tribute of one of their old drivers named Gale who is now retired.
It's sure has been a hot day
And One of these would go down good
I'd pop the top on one of 'em
And drink with you if I could
I'm proud to represent my company
But there's one thing that sucks
You're in there drinkin' cold suds
I'm driving this hot beer truck
CHORUS
(so everyone)
Drink one for the beer man
Bustin' my ass to make a buck
I'm the guy who makes your weekends fun
I'm the man drivin' the beer truck
Bartenders get all the glory
They're workin' havin' fun
I'm out here sweatin' bullets
So all of ya'll can have a cold one
I don't have any groupies
Like the guys in the band
But if it wasn't for me
You wouldn't have that beer in your hand
CHORUS
“Huntington is a great place with great people. a lot of great things have come out of Huntington. I tell you something that Huntington also has a lot of and I know you’ll be glad to hear this.”
“I’m hoping it’s what I think it is!”
“Yep, food. We’ll getcha a dozen Stewart’s Hotdogs and head down to Chili Willi‘s for some classic Mexican food. There’s great food from one end of Huntington to the other.”
“Chomp On Huntington. I think I’m gonna love it here!”
While we headed down the road I played “Davis’ Place. The song from AJ’s first cd that I wrote about the Huntington bar. The bar is a happening, fun place but the song is kind of melchancoly because it is about good friends I knew from there that are no longer with us. Here’s the words.
DAVIS’S PLACE
Woody stumbled into the barroom
Trying hard to walk with pride
Ever since his Annie left him
A part of him seemed to die
He said he felt just like that
Broken clock hanging up on the wall
Nothin' ever seems to happen
Sometimes time don't move at all
CHORUS
Some were really hurting inside
You could see the pain on their face
Trying to find somewhere to belong
We all became friends at Davis's Place
Becky was the pretty bartender
She was the one I was going to see
I'd sit all night to look in her eyes
But she never looked back at me
If there is someone for everyone
Why are so many people alone
Why does love bless some of us
But others walk on their own
CHORUS
BRIDGE
Everybody was looking for something
We all just kind of ended up there
But at the end of the day it seems
We all just want to belong somewhere
CHORUS
We headed onto fill up Alligator Jackson’s rumbling tummy. We’ll be back heading to another local area on Gator’s travels very soon. Until then, don’t forget to CHOMP ON!!!!
