Brittle Edges and All

Channel surfing last night, I settled on 'Larry King Live,' he had a show on San Quentin Prison (don't ask). It was perfectly dreadful, except for one guest: the Country and Western singer, Merle Haggard. I'm not the biggest C&W fan (although I do like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash) but every time Merle ('I'm an Okee from Muskogee') piped in, he had something refreshing and honest to say. Most people on TV (and maybe most people who want to be on TV - which I guess is most people) have assumed a slick dishonesty, which passes for 'normal' conversation. Not Merle, he was just Merle, hard, brittle edges and all. He talked about his life - a prisoner at San Quentin at 19 years old, to a pardon (by Ronald Reagan) 22 years later. Now that's a crooked road. No bullshit from Merle (he was in prison for stealing cars and escaping jail): 'I was an incorrigible young man.' Sitting in a cell, in solitary: 'I realized I didn't want to live this life.' So he changed his life. No bolt of lightening, no conversion experience, just - 'I decided to change my life.' He picked up a guitar and became Merle Haggard.