Still Standing

The old-time country music, what was called "Country Western," reminds me of my father. I can remember the hardware store where he worked, how it smelled and that music playing on the radio. Those songs are stories of people doin' other people wrong all the time.

Yesterday country legend George Jones died. He was for a time married to Tammy Wynette, and their personal life together and their lives with their other spouses is just a country song, with all kinda people doin' each other wrong.

The children of celebrities have an interesting and often difficult journey. Georgette Jones has the distinction of being the only person born to a couple, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame. She steered clear of music for a while, because those are some big shoes to fill, with not just one, but both, of her parents being such huge stars. Folks can't help but make the comparisons.

It is an odd feeling to have both parents gone. I had one friend in her 50's ask wryly if that made her an orphan, because that's how it made her feel. They never really are gone, these people who gave us life, whose DNA we carry around. And while some human relationships can sometimes be very difficult, and some days life seems to resemble a very bad country song, those of us still here always have another chance to make it better, to do it right.

Georgette Jones is quite a beautiful singer, in her own right.

"Stand By Your Man" written by Billy Sherrill and Tammy Wynette