Storied Past III

by Jimmy Johnson


My father and my Uncle Jim Frank were great story tellers whenever they got together. By “great,” I mean “prolific and enthusiastic.” First cousins, they had grown up together “in the country.” Uncle Jim Frank actually would have been my second cousin something-or-other. He told of being a young man and driving an elderly relative into the county seat of Lafayette, which had only recently installed its first traffic light. I’m sorry I can’t remember his name, but the old man was sitting in Jim Frank’s rumble seat. That’s how long ago this was. The light was red, and Jim Frank stopped and waited for it to turn green. Down the road apiece, he looked back and was astonished to discover the old man was no longer there. He quickly doubled back and found the old man at the intersection. Jim Frank asked why he’d gotten out, and the man replied, “You stopped and sat there, so I thought something was wrong with the car!” I’m not holding that up as one of my uncle/cousin’s best, but to illustrate a point. It seems to me, most stories aren’t extended narratives, as the name “story” might imply. They’re more like jokes, with a set-up and a punchline, and the best raconteurs are masters of brevity and comedic timing . I guess I would see it that way.

Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"

66 responses to “Storied Past III”

  1. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    And Jackie, Auburn beat Louisiana-Monroe today 42-14.

  2. are web hosting Avatar

    Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after
    checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and
    I’ll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!

  3. http://bit.ly Avatar

    Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a
    lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit,
    but instead of that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read.

    I will certainly be back.

  4. asmr there Avatar

    Hi there this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you
    have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no
    coding skills so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience.
    Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  5. for scoliosis surgery Avatar

    I enjoy what you guys are up too. This type of clever work
    and exposure! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve included you guys to
    blogroll.

  6. why asmr Avatar

    An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker
    who had been doing a little homework on this.

    And he in fact ordered me dinner because I discovered it for him…
    lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
    But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this
    subject here on your site.

  7. why scoliosis surgery Avatar

    You actually make it appear so easy along with your presentation however I find this matter to be
    really one thing that I think I might by no means understand.
    It kind of feels too complicated and very huge for me. I am having a
    look ahead in your subsequent publish, I’ll attempt to get the dangle of it!

  8. app.gumroad.com Avatar

    Your way of describing the whole thing in this piece of writing is in fact nice, every one be able to effortlessly
    know it, Thanks a lot. asmr https://app.gumroad.com/asmr2021/p/best-asmr-online asmr

  9. http://bitly.com/3hkp4jI Avatar

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems
    as though you relied on the video to make your
    point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
    cheap flights http://1704milesapart.tumblr.com/ cheap flights

  10. quest bars is Avatar

    I just like the valuable info you provide on your articles.
    I will bookmark your blog and test once more right here frequently.
    I am slightly certain I’ll be informed many new stuff right right here!
    Best of luck for the next! quest bars http://bit.ly/3jZgEA2 quest bars

  11. http://j.mp/3k0xFd5 Avatar

    Hello there! This is my first visit to your blog!
    We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the
    same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!
    scoliosis surgery https://0401mm.tumblr.com/ scoliosis surgery

  12. bit.ly Avatar

    After looking over a number of the blog articles
    on your website, I seriously like your way of blogging.
    I added it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back in the near future.

    Take a look at my website too and tell me your opinion.
    ps4 games https://j.mp/3z5HwTp ps4

  13. coub.com Avatar

    Why users still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe all is existing on web?
    scoliosis surgery https://coub.com/stories/962966-scoliosis-surgery scoliosis surgery

  14. iherb.com Avatar

    Hi there, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one is
    sharing information, that’s genuinely fine, keep up writing.
    quest bars https://www.iherb.com/search?kw=quest%20bars quest
    bars