Oh Lee, you're breakin' my heart down there

My detour down to Oklahoma satisfied the way only Oklahoma can. I got to meet up with Hillary in her native environment and make her do stuff like walk around the cemetery just outside of Mannford looking for Lee Hazlewood, snoop around a little oil well, and go have dinner at Shortcakes with the increasingly celebrated McFarlins. It sure was nice to see Lee and Diane again four years after they so eagerly lead Laura and me into the waters of Lake Carl Blackwell and the world of noodling. If you're wondering what Lee's been up to or what he's up to now, here are a couple of links that might interest you.

http://www.okienoodling.com/okienoodling2/index.html

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=368428329

My brother just posted 5 essential albums on his blog. I was pleased to see Lee Hazlewood had a spot. This is a picture of Stuart A. Staples, the living expression of Lee's sad side. He sings sad songs to make us happy, because human beings really enjoy sadness.

2007 saw the end of two of my heroes: one of Italy's most impressive directors ever, Michelangelo Antonioni, and, not even one week later, one of America's quirkiest country songwriters, Lee Hazlewood.