Maarianhome 2005-04-12 John P

 2005.04.12 John P

On the Road, Clark’s Mootel, Strongs, Chippewa Co, Michigan, USA 2005-04-11

Our conversation sure was sweet,

It nearly swept me off of my feet,

And I’m back in the sun,

Having my share of fun,

Blues and wonderings

So, I made it to Eckerman, almost to Canada. Saw Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario from over the strait in Soo, Michigan. In a while I’ll be heading west again, Duluth, Hibbing and Minnesota are my aims, for tonight, and I hope it will be fun, for a while. Thought of looking up the old blacksmith, Russell Johnson, here in Strongs, before I visit the post office in Eckerman to send some cards and applications, and then be gone down the road. I’m listening to Emmylou Harris doing her very precious version of ”Every Grain of Sand”. I saw the creator in Milwaukee last Friday. He started off with ”To Be Alone with You” and ”To Ramona” and did ”All along the Watchtower” as an encore. Fourth time around that I saw him. This time only 50 ft away.

Third time around for me in the States. This seems to be the real America to me. I´d love to come here again for a fourth time. Bring my family and friends.

I’m living in the future,

I´m living in the past,

Try to live here and now

At least, at last.

Highway 61 is waiting, I will go from Duluth down to Chicago this time. Down south to New Orleans next time around, inch’allah.

They say I have been living in a prison all my life. I will pass by Redwing on my way down and hope to throw my balls and chains away. My wife probably feared I would fuck my brains out, this time around. I haven´t done it yet. The Injun girls are pretty, but I won’t bother.

I wonder what John Eckerman was doing before and after founding this crossing for trains back in the 1880’s? I will go and find his grave someday and my grandpa’s Leonard´s as well. He was on the East Coast for 8 years in the roaring 20´s. Did he fuck his brains out? Are there any cousins around? I´ll find out, I´ll find out. What did my father John Eckerman do in Poland after the war, after he jumped ship in Gdansk? Did he ever come over here?

I can feel the spirit of Eckerman. The men are all strong and bully, the women are fast and sweet. I feel at home wearing my Butt Bear Bar cap and my greying beard. The best moment of Friday night was ”Absolutely, Sweet Marie”. Absolutely. He made me shout and dance. Other old suckers from the 60s did not understand, but the little girls did. On Saturday night I went to Rock Bottom in Moran and danced to ”Superstition”. The guys were rough but the girls were fine. At midnight I jumped into my red Pontiac Sunfire and drove into the dark, listening to classic rock from the local station ”The Bear”. As I curved Eckerman Corner a man comes on the radio. Mick Jagger can’t be a man, ’cause he doesn’t smoke Camels. I listened to the whole of ”Beggars Banquet” riding into the Michigan morning. My God what a musician Brian Jones was! I got no expectations, I’m a poor boy, I’m the prodigal son. Still not lost, but not found.

At the Bear Butt Bar and Grill I had me a whitefish for dinner Saturday nite. Tom Guys’s the owner. He is selling the place, wants to go out sailing on The Great Lakes.  I will go out sailing this spring when the ice has left and Freja is on water.

Having felt the Zimmermann grooves up around here, I will go down to Park West Chicago on Thursday nite and feel the spirit of Robert Nesta Marley when The Wailers are playing there.

If music be the food of love, then play on,

plain Tom Payne. 

On the road, Park Hibbing Hotel, MN, USA 2005-04-12

Drove all the way to Zimmy’s in Hibbing, ’bout 500 miles in approx, 9 h, driving steadily about 80 mph, even if the limit usually was 55. Hit Duluth at sundown. Got lost, had an urge to eat. Stopped at John´s Taco. Had a Taco Bravo. There are at least three Tom Eckermans in the States. One in Texas, one in Arizona and one in Minnesota. I called up the Minnesota one. Was not there. His wife was. Wondered what I wanted. I said I wanna know. She asked for my e-mail, and then gave me a number where Tom probably could be reached. At first he was engaged, but I got him 2nd time around. He was suspicious of my intents. Wasn’t interested in his roots. Told me to contact his dad in The Twin Towns of St. Paul – Minneapolis. Gave him my number so he could call me up tomorrow. Hope he does.

What is an ORV? Probably a camper, they´re not allowed at a lot of places. Drove by the beautiful southern shore of Lake Superior. Followed the Soo line that John Eckerman was partaking in building in the 1890s. Passed places like Makinen, Niemi and Korpi. No Pihlajas though. Maybe on the northern side of the border. Just before Hibbing there was a sign for Toivola. Will pass thru it tom-orrow. Drove thru Christmas, as well. There was a huge Santa outside of some souvenir-shop. Duluth was a mess. High hills and freeways going thru. I tried Highway 61 in order to reach Highway 53 northbound. Had to turn around and finally did find my way out, on the other side of town.

Getting into  Hibbing I stopped to wake my home up by phone. Anni had already left for school. I was looking for motels, only saw a Super 8. Downtown there was Park Hibbing Hotel. Looked expensive. Along main street there was a bar called Zimmy´s. I stopped and walked in to have a beer. The place was full of posters and record-sleeves depicting the first Bob. On the jukebox ”Not Dark Yet” from ”Time out of Mind”. They had a special on pints this Monday. 2 dollars. I chose an icy Michelob. They asked me if I were from around, and when they found out that I was from Finland they wanted me to sign the guest book. While wandering around looking at the frames, a young man approached me, asking if I was a Dylan fan. Couldn´t deny it. We stroke up a conversation about Finns. He was of Irish descent, second generarion Irish-American, Sean Johnson. Drove a truck and had very positive experiences of Finns. “Those good people that helped the Irish on Manhattan when they first got there”. Lots of Finns around here. He knew Niskanen. I told him about Kari the Painter.

There were only two public places to sleep in this town of 18.000 so I drove back to the 8 motel. Woke the reception girl up by calling 106. She said she was all occupied, full, and told me to go back downtown, head for Park. 79 $ for bed and 62 channels to choose from. Al Green is on NBC, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, doing a great job taking his audience by going around shaking hands and hugging while singing soulfully.

Time out of mind yeah. I was talking to Susan at the Eckerman Post Office this afternoon. Asked her how the weekend had been going. Beautiful weather, but too short. Told her about Caspers idea of the five day week. What they talked about in the late 60s but did not do all the way. Skip Mondays and Tuesdays. That way there will be exactly 73 weekends instead of 52-53 now.  In Åland everyone is complaining that the summer´s too short, All kinds of touristic events overlap and there are not enough tourists to fill all the events that are offered. So let´s have more weekends. Susan liked the idea. She would join my party. I said I had been wondering about becoming a politician in order to push the idea of Åland Time. Would maybe be something for Ålands framtid. But I do not want them to misuse such a grand idea. The Greens are trying to make a comeback in  Mariehamn, thru them the idea could thrive environmentally. Or maybe I should create a Tidal Party myself. Too much ado about nothing, though. After all the fuss about my electric bike and being sentenced 1050 €s for no crime at all everybody said they’d stay behind me. I wonder.

Everybody said they´d stand behind me

when the times got rough

But the joke was on me,

there wasn´t anybody even there to bluff

…………

Don´t send me no regards, no letters please,

’cept if you send them from

Desolation Row.

Will go the library tomorrow morn to see what they made of their Bob Dylan Tribute Corner. Take a drive around the Iron range and then head for Highway 61 down south. Pass by Redwing and Stockholm. Will reach Chicago late in the nite, I suppose. It´s been a breathtaking experience. Yesterday when I was looking for Russell Johnson I knocked on the door of a house nearby. Jimi Hendrix was playing LOAD inside. I walked into the house and knocked on the door of the room where Jimi was roaming. A young woman wrapped in a towel opened up and said ”Oops”. I asked her for the home of the old blacksmith and she pointed down the road. I excused myself while the phone rang. Walked over to the neighbors who already knew that I had been around, sneaking. They check up on every stranger in those villages. Now I´m already the man with the cause of trying to find out who John Eckerman was.

How about you? Whereabouts are you roaming? Hope you can take a bike tour westwards this summer. Then we can discuss the oddities of life, play a little, laugh a lot and look at moving pictures from the great Mid West.

Do take care, and don’t forget to breathe.

Yours truly,

The Lone Ranger Tom