"Country Boy"

Country boy, redneck, cracker, yokel, bumpkin, hick, cowlick...the language and lore for rural dweller is endless. As far as books go, I still can't think of anything that makes me think of a Polk County boyhood more than Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. I was listening to some Johnny Cash the other day and found some lyrics that made me think of a Chiles boyhood--except for the farming part. One of Cash's few sunny songs, "Country Boy," reminds me a lot of the careless good times he must have had swimming and fishing in Lake Morton and hunting in the woods down the street from his home in Lakeland.

I don't know that Cash penned any songs about Florida. I'm sure he could have done a job. One thing is for sure, the Sunshine State has plenty of prisons he could have played in.

See Johnnycash.com for more info on him.