"A long steel rail and short rail tie are gonna carry me home..."
It was in the early '70s that I remember hearing Doc Watson singing "The Streamlined Cannonball" on one of the music shows on WFMT in Chicago - for whatever reason I employed it as a pacing tool when I ran Cross-Country in high school - it still pops into my mind every so often
I don't recall ever not stopping to listen whenever I heard him on the radio
Shortly after I began the Eastside Sound (Every Other Monday 2 to 4), I was poking around in the piles of tapes in the back of the Music Library and came across two reels, recorded by an unknown KBOO volunteer, of a concert Doc and his son Merle played at Reed College in 1971
I knew that it was more than coincidence when I realized that the February 14, 2011 Eastside Sound would be forty years to the day of that "happening", so I decided to play the show in its entirety, complete and unabridged
We all know (or should) that we are born, we live and then we die - if we are fortunate we can have a positive influence on those around us whether we ever meet or not - I am very thankful that I was able to enjoy what ol' Doc put out there for all to hear, and that I was able to share something special with the KBOO community
You can listen to the Reed College show at kboo.fm/node/26768
Thanks for listening to, and supporting YOUR community's radio - KBOO
Happy trails
RaScHo