Thursday, January 26, 2017

I Was Reminded of Harry Chapin . . .



My favorite musician of all time is Harry Chapin.  He was a folk-rock singer who wrote what he called ''story songs.'' The subjects of these songs were often common people with poignant or even melodramatic tales to tell - tales of lost opportunities, cruel ironies, and life's hypocrisies. Most people have never heard his songs because, as Chapin used to joke, they were too long for radio.  A couple of exceptions are “Taxi” and “Cats In The Cradle.”

Another one of his fan favorites was “Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas,” based on a true story of a tragic truck accident.  On March 18, 1965, a 35-year-old truck driver, Eugene P. Sesky, was on his way to deliver a load of bananas to Scranton, Pennsylvania, when he lost control and crashed. 15 people were injured and Sesky was killed.

Tragic, I know.  But, if you’ve never heard the song, it’s worth a listen-- especially on the live album.
Chapin, by the way, was killed in 1981 when the car he was driving was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer on the Long Island Expressway.

Though I haven't heard that song for many years, it started to play in my head the other day after I read this headline:  A Truck Driver Has Lost His Marbles — All 38,000 Pounds Of Them

A truck carrying 38,000 pounds of marbles lost its trailer on I-465 in Indianapolis this past Saturday morning, causing the contents to spill onto the highway and shoulder near Pendleton Pike.

No injuries were reported, and, as one reporter wrote, "the lost marbles brought a pop of color to an otherwise bleak winter’s day."

Indiana State Police public information officer Sgt. John Perrine tweeted a photo of the accident.

Out driving today?  Put on some Harry Chapin and don't go bananas or loose your marbles.

Carpe Diem Life and Drive Safe!

David Kuhn
CarpeDiem-Life.com

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