Song I Love: A Boy Named Sue

There was a time in my life when I scorned a genre of music called country. This was before I heard the music of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Ryan Adams. Now, I'm a changed person... I only scorned the modern mainstream country and the one that incorporates some yodeling. Ha!

Anyway, I've been hearing a lot of Johnny Cash these days and I can't help laughing out loud every time I hear a song called 'A Boy Named Sue'. Here's for your enjoyment. Listen carefully till the end, and it will possibly be your favorite as well :)

A Boy Named Sue
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Yeah, that's what I told him.

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Any damn thing but Sue! I still hate that name!

John 'Wayne' McCain, the Mini Series - Part 1

The U.S presidential race this year has turned out to be a real entertainment worthy of plenty of butterlicious popcorn. It's a star studded drama y'all!

First we have Obama, the media darling, who is running as the first black candidate ever. Joe Biden, Obama's running mate, is a hot tempered senator who has had several public outbursts. Sarah Palin is the first female and possibly youngest republican vice president candidate ever. And if you read any news outlet these days, you know that Palin's unmarried daughter is 5 months pregnant. Gasp! Oh, the drama!

But how about McCain? Outside US, no one seems to know him. They may just think of him as a plain OLD republican candidate. Well, TIME magazine's recent article highlights McCain and his life, and boy what a page turner the articles are.

Now, If I have to choose between watching the documentary of Obama or McCain, without doubt I would choose the latter. The story will be filled with interesting characters, drama, girls, drugs, politics, and all that jazz. Well, let's take a look at the life oh John McCain when it's put into a film ... or a mini series.

- John Sidney McCain was born to Jack McCain and Roberta McCain in Panama Canal Zone (see, even where he was born is already interesting).

Jack McCain, the father, was a workaholic and an alcoholic four star admiral in the Navy and also a WWII hero. Roberta McCain, the mother, has a twin sister (Rowena) and is a beauty with a spunk. When she was 21, she eloped to Tijuana with a naval officer who ended up being her husband for life. (Hey, if the Notebook can sell, this can sell as well)

- Despite, or maybe because of his father big shoes to fill, young John McCain became a troublemaker and therefore received various nick names including John 'Wayne' McCain, Punk, and McNasty. (We could have the Gray Anatomy casts as cameos in the film!)

- He joined the Naval Academy, became the leader of The Bad Bunch, a lightweight boxer, a womanizer, a partying man, and thanks to his extra curricular activities, succeeded in finishing 894th out of 899th in his class. (This will be the fun montage part of McCain doing all things nasty)

- Out of school, he married a model (well of course, he was a womanizer) and adopted her two children. They had a daughter as well. Oh, children count: 3 ... for now

- (Here comes the suspense and drama!) During the Vietnam war, his plane was shot and he became a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 5 1/2 years. He could have gone out sooner, due to his father high ranks, but he refused for the sake of his country and his comrades morale. During this time, his father ordered the bombing of Hanoi despite him being captive there. (As I said, suspense, drama!)

- He finally got out of the war and found himself promoted as the nation hero. He was united again with his family. However, they've been apart for almost 6 years. I'm sure many things have changed. His wife also just had a fatal car accident and had to go through a lot and lengthy treatments. I don't suppose that things went well in the marriage.

- It was around this time that McCain met a teacher for children with Down syndrome in Arizona. They met at a party, she was starstruck and McCain was head over heels. She said she was 3 years older than she was, McCain said he was 4 years younger. Only later that they realized that they're actually 17 years apart. (This is definitely the romance part utilized to attract the female audience)

- Not long after, he managed to have her wife divorced him. He promised to pay for her ongoing medication in addition to other financial settlements. Only 5 weeks after the divorce, John McCain (44) and Cindy Lou Hensley (25) got married. (Drama, betrayal, romance, you name it, they're all here!!)

And, this will be a perfect place to end the first episode. But wait, there is more. We still haven't touched the political rise of McCain, the drug problems in the family, the scandal that almost ruined McCain's political career, McCain's upset lost against Bush, and finally McCain's upheaval path to be the 2008 Republican presidential candidate.

Well, depending on alto's persistence in bugging me to write, the second episode will either be posted tomorrow, next week, next month, or never. So, in conclusion, blame alto if I don't write the next and final episode.

Until then, peyo ... out.

Daily Picture: Sweepers

I took the picture in some harbor in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya. They were so shy and blushed when I took the picture. I wondered inside how much they make and whether it's enough.

A Chat between Two Ramblers =)

Alto: Wooo, 3 consecutive daily pics in our blog and no articles whatsoever! Weeee, lazy asses!

Peyo: Hi five!

Alto: Ousss!
....

Peyo: Holy crap Alto, it's not 3 but 5 consecutive pics !

Alto: Well no, there's an article on your batik tulis post.

Peyo: Dude, it doesn't count -_- I just whipped up something because I felt guilty of our bare blog.

Alto: As you should! I should!
....

Alto: Relax, why so serious ... it's a rambling world!

Peyo: Well, our blog does say 'Everyday ramblings ...'

Maybe we should consider changing it to: "a Once in a While Rambling.. When We Feel Like it..and Not Lazy Enough to Post Something".... fiuh, that's a long one.

Alto: Hey, you know what..I was thinking...maybe we should just post our chat history on our blog. Afterall, this is where the fun rambling lies in.

Peyo: Hey! That should fill your slot and mine....for this week!

Alto: Or 2 weeks ...
....

Alto: Well, let's start rambling now, and I'll cut, paste and post.

Peyo: No way Jose! Too lazy. Let's just post what we just talked about. I'm too lazy to edit. You do it? XD

Alto: Fine, I'll do it for our blog's sake..-___- lazy asses we are indeed.

Daily Picture: A Farmer

He said that he's a farmer. Well, if he really is a farmer like what he said, than he's one bad ass farmer.

But, I would like to think that he's an undercover opium lord who was taking a vacation in Bali. One morning, the morning that I met him, he decided that he was in need of exercise and therefore decided to do some grass cutting in the field nearby his luxury getaway.

I think my version makes much more sense :)