My research told me a crossroad could be found anywhere in life. My heart told me my soul would not be fulfilled until I walked on the hallowed ground of the Mississippi bluesmen. You cross a road everyday in life, you can't look back.You go on and use your time. And one day, your time is up, and all you can hope for at that point is to have "left your mark" as Dave is fond of saying. And so if we are lucky we get to walk on new ground every once in awhile. We met a bunch of great people I can call friends. Not one bad experience, although we were somewhat surprised at the lack of available barbecue! We saw what I will always believe was a moment of true grief and love at the sight of a head-on collision, where what I have to assume was family, stood holding hands as one of the two victims was extracted from the remains of what I cannot even say was a car or a SUV. We found what we believe was the crossroads used in the movie. About the right distance from Route 1, outside Beulah. There was an old cemetery about 200 yards from the corner. There was no church but it was reported to have had a fire. There were pieces of brick plowed into the field around the cemetery, so that's where the church should have disappeared to. Two dirt roads came to a T, with a grass road running from the top of the T. No large tree, but that too was reported to have gone away. Things do change. We were there at sundown. We did not meet Legba, but then there were 2 of us. However, some of the pictures I took of Robert Johnsons headstone bear some evidence of what I can only call other worldly existence.
We arrived Thursday, ready for whatever we might find. What we did find was a collection of some of the best musicians I have ever seen, much better in my mind than New Orleans, but I'm not a big Zydeco fan. It is very much like New Orleans, or Key West for that matter. But to me, the vibe is much more palpable. It was very cold, and a pretty slow night for Beale St. we were told. That really just made it better for us because we got to talk to most of the players we saw, a little more than just the hi, where are you from, thanks for coming that is the norm. Everybody we met seemed truly glad to meet us, and it was a truly energizing experience hearing all that great music. Next..... Friday,we get serious about the quest and get to meet some of the nicest people around.