Labor Day Memories - I only have one so far | Eastern North Carolina Now

   I do not have a holiday tradition for Labor Day.  I have never really thought much about it as anything other than just another day off work or School. Below is a memory of my one labor day memory. I am aware that I tend to ramble on like Arlo Guthrie so if you want to skip forward, go to the bottom and see the minimalist version of this article. Bobby Tony 

   My only vivid memory of any Labor Day holiday dates back 49 years ago to the weekend of August 31-September 4, 1967.  Almost everything in my life is broken into a  before and after mental calendar. You guessed it.  There was before Army and After Army. I look at it like my marker from boyhood to manhood, though my wife says it took quite a few more years to make that transition.

   I was drafted on August 31, 1967.  I reported to the induction center on Ponce De Leon in Atlanta, Georgia.  The induction process has been described by many before but I have always thought it was best represented in spirit and a somewhat factual event by Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant."  I do not expect anyone to endure the 16 ½ minutes of this video, but it gives a good humorous rendition of the process of military induction. The original version was released in October of 1967 so I can't say that I had heard it before my experience.  Let's just say that I did not have to stay on the Group W bench for long, but I did have to admit to an indiscretion almost as ludicrous when I was 17 in 1963 shortly after graduation.  I had been caught and convicted of disorderly conduct for throwing Eggs.  It was on my permanent record since my court date was also my 18th birthday and the day my dad took me to register for the draft.  Fours years later (1967) I had to endure the humiliation of explaining that arrest to an Army Shrink.  I have an article about that event but will not bore the reader further with that escapade here. I was not as fortunate or creative as Arlo  or I would have written the song myself. They pronounced me fit for military service and I like to think it may have been one of the best decisions the US Army ever made. It changed my life for the better.

This is the induction center as which have now been converted into lofts. 

   In honor of that time, I have been trying to learn the guitar licks of Arlo's rendition of the song.   I only use the chorus in my rendition of the song (although I have been told I cam ramble on for well over 16 minutes). Watch the first few bars below and admire how much an aging peacenik and folkie (and converted Libertarian) still had the memory to perform the song.  No telling how many of Arlo's DOOBIES have gone up in flames between 1967 and 2005 when he sings this song again for the millionth time.  I take my hat off to him and to the country that is built on the principle that you can have an opinion that may lie somewhere outside the mainstream.

Click here if video does not load

   I do however have a vivid memory of the weekend following my induction and naturally have a story about that as well.  Because of the holiday, my weekend was spent in a barracks waiting for transfer to the training company at Harmony Church.  Suffice it to say that an enterprising supply sergeant brought hookers to the almost deserted base and made a good bit of money off the newly recruited draftees. I did not participate in the festivities because I was in love with my future Ex-Wife to be.

   Lonely is a relative term that requires some reference to the past and a sad song always helps to enhance the feeling. Circumstances and this song met all the requirements for a long lonely labor day  weekend at Fort Benning.

 Click here if the video does not load

What a memory, You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant and Fort Benning courtesy of a Capitalist Army Supply Sergeant.


The minimalist version

Here are two songs from 1967

Alice's Resturant

 The Letter


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Comments

( September 5th, 2016 @ 6:02 am )
 
Now, I could be wrong but I think to properly play this song you need a certain special ingredient. Look at the lead singer. This is a classic studio song that is hard to lip sync and sing along.
Hey man, dig this.
( September 5th, 2016 @ 5:56 am )
 
I have not tried The letter yet, but I think you are right. The vocals are as much an integral part of playing as the chords. Here is a link that shows the chords over the original Box top songs.

beaufortcountynow.com
( September 2nd, 2016 @ 12:51 pm )
 
"The Letter" looks to be fairly easy to play. I play these chords all the time.

The difficult part is getting it right, because there are so few chord changes.

At this point having a little singing ability helps.

B.T., are you working that one into shape?



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