Well, I’ve already posted stories and pictures from some of my blues ramblings. You can check out this site for more information about the Blues Trail, which is the Mississippi Blues Commission’s effort to commemorate more than 120 historical and interpretive sights relating to the blues (http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues_trail/). I also want to mention my travel ‘bible’ with regards to blues sites and information, “blues Traveling – The Holy Sites of Delta Blues”, by Steve Cheseborough. Ronnie had recommended this invaluable book, which I picked up at Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc., in
This post is going to be about some happenings one day while I was running around on the bike checking out history and snapping pictures. I was in Tutwiler, MS 
, and even though I had just taken pictures of a local map to
the site of Sonny Boy Williamson II’s grave site, I still seemed to miss my turn (somehow I missed “the intersection with the gas meter”, which turned out to be a few pipes coming out of the ground, covered by tall grass), so I stopped short of a stop sign, turned the bike off and pulled “the book” out.
About this time a pickup truck came down the crossroad from my right and made a left turn, heading in the direction I just came from. The truck came to a stop and the driver asked what I was looking for. I read him for a local just looking for an opportunity to help, and boy was I right! When I told him I was looking for Sonny Boy’s grave site, he shut off his truck, which was parked in the middle of the road, and hopped out to give me directions! I explained I was cruising around checking out old blues ‘stuff’ and besides the grave I was also heading to Po’ Monkey’s juke joint, and did he have any suggestions of other places I should check out.
At that point I couldn’t have felt more welcomed and fortunate. Turns out this man has been friends with “Monkey” for 30 years and told me all kinds of stories about Monkey, the place, and even some of the (unmentionable) happenings at the place!
Perhaps I should back up a bit. In case you didn’t read a previous post - who can blame you, some of these get a bit long winded and boring, and judging on the length of this one already, and the number of beers I’ve had, I’m pretty much expecting that this entry will also be quite long. But I digress.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, I wasn’t talking about Monkey yet, so don’t follow that link till later. Right now, I’m talking about Larry Grimes. He’s the guy that parked his pickup in the middle of the road and started telling me jokes, showing me the gold coins he carries in his wallet, as well as pointing out that the idea of “Dead Presidents” as a reference to paper money is a misnomer. He asked if I had a ten, but before I had time to wonder if this was a hold-up, he pulled out a wad of money and showed me Hamilton, who wasn’t a president, on the 10 dollar bill. Then, he asked who was on the hundred, and before I could even figure out who
Somewhere around this point a school bus came toward us from behind me, and when I suggested we move out of the middle of the road, Larry just smiled as the bus drove AROUND his truck! The driver opened the door and yelled “If it hadn’t been YOU, I’d run ya both over!” and laughed. Larry introduced us, telling me the driver also rides (motorcycles), and told the driver he was giving me directions to Monkey’s. I started wondering if maybe I wasn’t talking to the Mayor of the town or something. Turns out Larry is retired from Parchman, the Mississippi State Penitentiary where so many bluesmen have spent time and/or written songs about. He also makes….well…..steel art. Oh, I guess they call him an “Iron Sculptor” - http://www.arts.state.ms.us/folklife/artist.php?dirname=grimes_larry. Holy Crap! This guy REALLY is on the internet like he said! He was telling me about some of the things he made, and despite what the article says, he told me he’s sold quite a bit of his work and has a college fund for his kids. Then again, the article mentions “his wife”, so I’m guessing it’s a bit out of date. Let’s just say we spent QUITE A BIT of time talking at that intersection, and while they are “still friends”, they are no longer married. hahaha
Well, besides telling me all about Monkey’s – Okay, side story kinda – Basically, before venturing into an unknown place in the middle of the night to hear blues music, I usually like to run by during the day to find out where it is and to determine if I’ll be welcome. I mentioned I was gonna run over there and check the place out that day and Larry says, “Oh, the girls aren’t there today. He’s not open on Mondays when he’s working in the field.” What I hadn’t realized is that on Mondays,
Ooops, we aren’t talking about Monkey’s yet, are we? So, Larry tells me where he lives and how he has some of his art out in front of his place as well as some 
galleries and some work at Monkey’s – a steel monkey – go figure! He describes his helicopter that's on top of his shed and the tractors he makes out of sewing machines. I ask if I can stop by and check it out and take some pictures and he tells me no problem. He says “if you get too close to the fence, sirens will go off, but don’t worry”. SIRENS?
As we were parting, I told Larry I’d be there (at Monkey’s) on Thursday and he told me to be sure to bring my camera – “we have a lot of fun out there”.
So, here’s Po’ Monkey’s during the day
. I’m glad I went looking for it in the 
daylight, as its a few miles down back roads, including a gravel, Po’ Monkey’s Road! Of course, since Monkey was out working in the fields (he drives tractor for a farmer), the girls weren’t there that day. LOL
Well, this has gotten long enough, so I’m going to call it “part 1” and get it posted. I’ll be back to tell you all about my journey the following Thursday to
Life is Good.
Monkey ain't too poor.
Lon
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