Charlie Daniels’ decorated career as a singer, song writer, guitarist, and fiddler spanned several decades. (Photo credit: Erika Goldring/WireImage)
This has been a hectic week given the launch of our new company and a business partnership, but I still wanted to give fans some more tidbits of insider information, but it may be a little more brief than usual.
First of all, dad HATED to be late. He hated it when people were late, and he would prefer to be 30 minutes early for something than one minute late himself. Several of his “let’s all make the day count” daily tweets reflected that. And one, in particular, stands out.
“Being habitually late is just your way of telling other people you don’t consider their time to be as valuable as yours. Let’s all make the day count.”
Ouch.
I always try to be on time, but in my earlier years, being a bit scatterbrained and not always managing time caused me to be late once or twice…or more — but who’s counting? — but I’ve improved with age. But being early was a core part of dad’s being.
What would be really frustrating sometimes was agreeing on a time for us to leave to go somewhere and I would be getting ready at my house — which is near theirs — but I can’t remember how many times I would be in the middle of drying my hair and budgeting my time so as to allow for me to be there about 5 minutes before our agreed on departure time when dad would call me and say “let’s leave about 10 minutes early,” which would usually leave me scrambling in a tizzy to throw clothes on and walk out the door, usually with my hair still wet.
But better early than late.
If you ever saw dad perform, you might have noticed that dad chewed gum constantly. I even saw a perfectly timed shot of him singing with his mouth wide open, and the gum was visible! He was often seen chomping away at press conferences, concerts, you name it.
So why did he chew gum all the time? It’s pretty simple: to keep his mouth from drying out while he was singing or speaking, giving interviews, etc.
It may not have been the most subtle or “couth” way to keep your mouth from drying out, but it worked for him.
Over the years, dad occasionally tweeted about relaxing at Twin Pines with mom and a “libation.” Something that might surprise a lot of people is that most of the time — at least in his later years — he preferred wine over beer. He wasn’t a wine club snob or anything, but he found a few that he liked. He was particularly fond of Rodney Strong Merlot, and in the last couple of years, discovered Domaine Bousquet Malbec.
In the evening after dad’s funeral, some loved ones and I topped off a long emotional day by toasting him with a bottle of Rodney Strong Merlot…and some Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies which he was also fond of, although I don’t think he ever combined them in one sitting.
I don’t necessarily recommend them together. The lush bouquet of blackberries, black cherry, and plum of the merlot clashes with the robust sweetness and chewiness of the creme pies.
Special thanks to Google for helping me craft a wine snob’s analysis of the clash of flavors.
That’s all for this week.
And now you know…the Rrrr-est of the story. Good Day!
Apologies to the late Paul Harvey.
What do you think?
Pray for our troops, our police, our country, and the peace of Jerusalem.
God Bless America
— Charlie Daniels, Jr.
Charlie Daniels, Jr. is the son of legendary American singer, song writer, guitarist, and fiddler Charlie Daniels.
