|
I thought I was so smart at 25. Thought I knew it all, especially
when it came to American culture. If I didn't know it, it clearly
wasn't worth knowing.
Which may explain my shock when at that age I found myself on an
extended trip to London and encountered
nightly television commercials for records by some weird guy named
Slim Whitman. First, I wasn't ready for the idea that the Brits, the
people who'd given us Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who?
and
Monty Python, might like
country music. Even worse, what was the deal with this dude's
yodeling? What was that all about? That the ads described Whitman as
a big star in the UK confused and horrified me even more. Warm beer I
could learn to like. But country music? With yodeling? Never!
It would be years before I heard Whitman's name again, and in an
even more bizarre
context. Of course, by then I'd learned that there were more
things on heaven and earth than were dreamt of in my philosophy. I'd
even discovered the appeal of yodeling, at least when done by
Riders in the
Sky's Ranger Doug. So maybe it's time to give Slim Whitman
another try. After all, I learned to like warm beer. And he did save
us from those Martians...
|
