CRAZY
by DG Hear
edited by blackrandl1958
Sometimes I see something or a crazy thought comes into my head and I need to write about it. That's what happened with this story. A big thank you to blackrandl1958 for editing this story and making it a much better read.
I had just walked into my favorite country bar and grill. I sat at a small table in back and ordered up a sandwich, fries and a beer. I sat there watching the TV. They had a PBS channel on, And they were talking about country music, all the old stars who were mostly dead now, but a few were still living. Overall, it was pretty sad as they talked about the lives of the greats. I never realized how many came from extremely poor families who never had anything.
Dolly Pardon came from a huge family and was born in a one room shack with no inside plumbing. Loretta Lynn's father was a coal miner. Of course, this was well known. One of her most popular songs was "Coal Miners Daughter." Loretta Lynn had just passed at ninety six. I learned that Johnny Cash was married and had daughters. He stayed on the road and hardly ever came home to see his family.
He was coming to town for a big concert, his wife was going to surprise him and took her four daughters to the concert to see their dad. He was traveling with The Carter Sisters, who were also very popular singers. He didn't see his wife and daughters, and after the show, he jumped in a car with June Carter and they drove away. His wife was devastated. Johnny and Vivian Cash had four daughters. After Johnny Cash had numerous affairs including a high-profile relationship with future wife, June Carter, Vivian filed for divorce in 1966 after twelve years of marriage. He stayed on the road with June Carter. To make a long story short, he married her and she became June Carter Cash. They sang a lot of songs together.
One more story I heard surprised me. Willie Nelson was more well-known for his songwriting than he was for singing. He wrote a song that he titled "Stupid," But he ended up changing the name to "Crazy". His version didn't go over that well, and he sold it to Patsy Cline or gave it to her to sing. Her version became a number one country hit for over a year. They said on the program that it sold millions of copies. Even people who didn't own a phonograph bought copies.
Patsy Cline was thirty years old when she was killed in a plane crash. Her song, 'Crazy,' became the number one best selling country song of all time. Even today, her song is still in most country music jukeboxes. I know I played it all the time.
My favorite music has always been old time rock and roll, but I also liked the way country music tells about real life. I also liked to watch the ladies do line-dancing and shaking their booties.
As I was eating my dinner I looked up and saw my best friend Ben walk in with Jenny. I was extremely saddened. You see, I thought Jenny was my girlfriend. I had asked her to go out tonight and she said she already promised some friends she would go out with them tonight and we could go out tomorrow.
Jenny and I had been dating a good six months, and I thought we were exclusive. We went out almost every weekend. I knew I was falling for her big time, and she said she felt the same about me. We were thinking of getting engaged, but thought we should wait a few more months. There wasn't any hurry since we dated regularly.
After the program ended on TV, someone went to the jukebox and played "Crazy."
I was listening to the song and this is the second verse.
I knew you'd love me
As long as you wanted
And then someday
You'd leave me for somebody new
It made me wonder if Ben was the new guy. The problem was, Ben knew how I felt about Jenny. I guess our bro code didn't mean anything to him. I continued to listen to the song as the two of them were acting like lovers. The last verse played.
Crazy for thinking
That my love could hold you
I'm crazy for tryin' and crazy for cryin'
And I'm crazy for lovin' you
I got up from my table and walked up to Ben and Jenny. They looked up at me, and Ben said, "Charlie, we..."
"Shut the fuck up. If I ever see you again one of us will be spending a long time in the hospital. As for you, Jenny, I'm totally disappointed in you. Needless to say, we're through. You showed me your true colors".
They had a jukebox in their booth, and I tossed down two quarters and told her to play 'Crazy' again. She did and I left the bar.
The next day, my phone was ringing all day. It was Jenny, but I didn't want to talk to her. Later in the day, the phone rang. It was Ben so I answered it. "What the fuck do you want?"
"Charlie I'm sorry. You know I've always thought Jenny was sexy, and as we were talking at work, I asked her out and she said yes."
"Don't fucking lie to me. You knew she was my girl and asked her out anyway. How many times have you been with her?"
"Charlie, It was only..."
"How fucking many times, Ben? You lie to me and I'll come looking for you."
"Three times, Charlie. We've been together three times. We kind of fell for each other. I'm sorry."
"What about Sylvia? Does she know you cheated on her? She deserves a hell of a lot better than you. Ben, I never want to see you again, and as far as Jenny goes she's all yours." I hung up the phone.
Sylvia was Ben's girlfriend. Jenny, Ben and Sylvia all worked at the same plant. There is a story about how we all met. The phone rang again, and it was Jenny. I figured I might as well get it over with.