A Tale of Two Fiddles - Soapbox Jr.
A week ago, I was at an event surrounded by truckers, the backbone of our country, the men and women who keep our country moving along and who make sure that stores have what they need to stock their shelves.
The Daniels family has long had respect for these road warriors who keep the engines chugging along, both literally and figuratively.
So on October 30th, me, Mom and Chelsea attended a dinner at a NASTC conference, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, cofounded by its president, David Owen, and also attending was one of the foremost pediatric neurosurgeons in the United States and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and his lovely and talented wife.
But as far as the conference goes, CDB hasn’t had any trucks or buses on the road since early 2020, so why were the Daniels family and several of our former CDB staff there? Well, it was because of a lady named Debbie Lamberson.
Debbie was formerly president of Christmas 4 Kids, a worthwhile cause that tour bus drivers started by opening up their buses for fans to tour to raise money for kids that otherwise would have no Christmas cheer whatsoever. It was expanded into a concert at the Ryman which Dad headlined for about ten years, it was at a C4K show where Martina McBride invited Dad to become a member of The Grand Ole Opry which left him speechless.
Now what does all this have to do with fiddles? Bear with me, I’m getting there.
David Owen had Dr. Ben Carson and his wife Candy as guests at at least one other NASTC conference and became friends with them. When David found out that Candy was a classically trained violinist – as opposed to a fiddle player – he got her a signed “gold” fiddle autographed by Dad that we used as auction items from time to time.
Candy loved her fiddle, but she also felt a sense of duty to her country and when the opportunity came to donate her prized fiddle, I mean violin, to the Library of Congress, she did not hesitate.
She did ask if she might be able to get another signed fiddle, and through Debbie, they were able to get her a black laser engraved Charlie Daniels 80th Birthday fiddle which we produced back in 2016. They were limited to only 80 of them, we gave away fiddle #1 in a contest and then sold the other 79.
So, Debbie asked if Mom and I would present this fiddle to Candy during the evening’s program, which we both agreed to.
But Candy took it one step further, she was determined to play it that night at the event. Which especially blew my mind because this was considered more of a collectible wall-hanger rather than the choice instrument of a virtuoso violinist, plus the rosin on the fiddle bow was going to make it look dusty, but it's her fiddle, she can do with it as she chooses.
Mom and I presented her the fiddle, and she did what she promised, she played the instrumental parts of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” with a decidedly smoother tone than Dad was known for.
Dr. Carson and Candy were lovely people, and we were thrilled to get to spend some time with them that night. I briefly met them one morning in an Atlanta hotel lobby, but it was brief, so I was glad to get to talk with them for a bit.
I’m not sure if Dad ever got to meet the Carsons, but I know he would have loved getting to spend time with them.
Thank you to the Carsons and thank you to Debbie, David and to the many many truck drivers who were in attendance that night. We may have all come from different backgrounds, but one thing was for sure, we all love the United States of America.
What do you think?
Let’s all make the day count!
Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and especially our nation.
God Bless America!
#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve
#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
- Charlie Daniels, Jr.
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