Makin' music with my friends (and family)

The post title is adapted from a lyric of "On the Road Again," a hit song by Willie Nelson recorded in 1980. - D.H.

It goes without saying that music is very important in my life.  In my past world, I sold over 40 million albums and won 11 Grammy awards.  I have made it clear that, despite all my different and obvious talents, that acoustic country guitar is my first love.  Now, I am sharing that love with the other older males in the family.

Popeye, Ralph, Harvey, and Bobby Ray have started the Barefoot Boys, a vocal quartet specializing in Southern gospel songs.  They debuted recently at our family church service in the common room, and plan to travel around Idealia as itinerant performers.

That my brother, one of my uncles, and two of my cousins should form this group should come as no surprise.  Our hometown of Benson, NC annually stages one of biggest events in Southern gospel music, the Gospel Singing Convention.  Every June, dozens of groups come to the Singing Grove in our town to share their love of sacred (mostly Baptist or Methodist) music and to compete for prizes.  In fact, as this article shows, someone named Barefoot was one of the five "founding fathers" of this event.  Between us, we have attended the event many times.  Oh and one more thing: My first public concert appearance was during a break in this competition when I was eight years old.

I have spent a lot of time with them recently as an unofficial vocal coach, ensuring that they sound professional.  Their lack of experience is more than made up for by their enthusiasm and love of music.  In my mind, there is no doubt that the Barefoot Boys will succeed as they share their love of the Trinity through music.

UPDATE 1/1/2013 - Bobby Ray has left the Barefoot Boys, cutting the group from a quartet to a trio.  Bobby Ray told his brother Buddy Wayne that he had lost his enthusiasm, and both had agreed that he just wasn't talented enough.

Speaking of music, Hambone had her first public performance not too long ago in the common room.  She had a mixture of traditional songs passed down through the generations and contemporary hit songs like "Rollin' in the Deep."  As I saw her perform, I saw a combination of fascination and pride.  I didn't know that making music just with one's body could be that much fun!

Favorite Halloween costume

This is the time of year when millions of people prepare to celebrate Halloween.  Theme parks across North America, including "Knotts Scary Farm" about 10 miles from my home, have started special holiday events as they find ways to spook and entertain their customers.  On Oct. 31 itself, parents everywhere will welcome children of all ages into their homes for the traditional distribution of candy and good cheer.

So I asked my characters what their favorite holiday costumes and activities were - or still are.

Popeye: When I grew up, Davey Crockett [the Appalachian folk hero] was popular on TV.  So I had his entire getup, complete with coonskin cap and 18th-century rifle.
Bobby Ray: I didn't have a favorite costume; I looked scary enough as it was.:)  But I do remember my favorite activity: bobbing for apples.
Annie: An angel.
Belinda: Alice, from [Alice's Adventure in Wonderland].

Buddy Wayne: I was a soldier in the U.S. Army, complete with a patch with my name on it.  I felt like a real American hero, which of course they are!
Harvey: I loved to be a vampire.  Of course, no one much liked them back then.
Brenda: I was usually a colonial girl, but one year I was Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and loved it.
Jennifer: Little Bo Peep.
Bryson: I'm a cowboy!
Bunky: Bond. James Bond.
Brandy: I wore various costumes every year when the [Carolina] Hurricanes had their theme night for Halloween.  The one I remember the most was when I was Reese Witherspoon as Scarlett O'Hara in a re-imagined version of Gone With the Wind.
Hambone: Hate to say this, but...a bitch.  Literally, I was a female dog.  Don't ask me how that happened.
Ralph: Elvis Presley.  Thank you, thank you very much.

(This is another thing I did on my new best friend, Adobe Photoshop.  The patch is that of Laura Barefoot O'Donnell, a crafter, from a blog that has since been taken offline.  As for the "uniform," thanks to Brittany Barefoot of Greenwood, SC, for putting that on her Facebook page.)

My "Biddy" and her remarkable backstory

While updating the Barefoot family profiles, I came across a reference I made to Mary Elizabeth McBiddlewhiskers.  She is the guardian angel God put in charge of Idealia.  Her responsibilities include assigning family members to their proper location, arranging for the objects they will need, and keeping watch over any places that are left vacant, usually as a result of distant trips for work or holidays.

The person I would have playing "Biddy" is Marianne Muellerleile.  She may well be the best actress you've never heard of.  In a career spanning over 30 years, Muellerleile has had bit parts in scores of movies, television shows, and commercials.  In my estimation, she has deserved better.  Her unusual name and great sense of humor should have made her a huge sitcom or comedic movie star, but the opportunities just never came.

You can see her complete career history here.

What it means to have the Barefoot name

Buddy Wayne gives his thoughts on his family's name and what it means to him in this posting. - D.H.

"English: nickname for someone who was in the habit of going about his business unshod, from Old English bær ‘bare’, ‘naked’ + fot ‘foot’. It may have referred to a peasant unable to afford even the simplest type of footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance..."
 - Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 via ancestry.com, on what the last name Barefoot means
"No matter how poor you are, if you've got family, you're always rich."
 - Robbie "Sweetie Pie" Montgomery, restaurant owner and reality TV star
"It feels better barefoot.  We're in the country.  That's how we do it."
 - Employee at convenience store frequented by reality TV phenomenon Honey Boo Boo (Meka?)1

Although the last name we share has such a negative connotation in so many ways, we are proud of it.  That's why I have asked everyone to go shoeless throughout the house, and even in some public settings.  Also, I have encouraged our family to spend their break times in the meadow on the south end of our property or at the side of our pond so we can go to the most appropriate settings for our name.  The feeling of the grass or the sand beneath our feet is good!

Since I moved to Idealia, people have wondered how I could be so happy with living with such a very low standard of living compared to what I had before.  They are still stunned that someone with three NASCAR championships and many music awards could live the way I do now, on an obvious trip back in time.  Here's how I answer the question: As hard as this place is, as much as I miss some of the things of modern life, if I could ask for any place to be at any time in history, this is exactly it.  I get to live off the land, use my imagination, learn new skills, and most importantly of all meet new people and learn more about the relatives I already have. 

Sweetie Pie is right: life should be measured in what you have, not how much you have.  I should add that it should also be measured by how happy you are.  Heaven is a place of guaranteed happiness, health, and well-being, and none of us are taking the place for granted.

That's it for me, until next time.

Pictured: Elizabeth Carol Mason, mother of my Facebook friend Deb Holmes, in a childhood photo taken in 1943.

See also this posting from namesake Darren Barefoot with more detailed information and this alternate name theory, which has nothing to do with bare feet.

1 However, in the scene in question, Boo Boo herself is not barefoot; instead it is her sister Lauryn.

Meet the McLambs

Here are the 18 members of the McLamb family that are in rivalry with the Barefoot family that was discussed in the previous post.  This is also a large residence with three parts.

The western residence has mother Gaynell, father Linwood, daughters Shayla (Buddy Wayne Barefoot's first wife; see chapters 10 and 11) and Shawnelle, and sons Coy Lee and Charlie.








In the middle are father Jerald Dean, mother Burlene, their son Brandon (Barefoot's longtime friend), and their daughter Brianna (first syllable is pronounced like "dry," not like the usual "free").

Finally, three generations share the dwelling on the east side: grandma Lula Mae and grandpa Willard; their daughters Rachel and Rebecca; Rebecca's husband Ronnie Dale; and their daughters Laura, Lindsay, and LaRayne.








Avatars: "Shayla" is former high-school softball player Brittany Black; "Brianna" is country-music singer Brittany McLamb; and "LaRayne" is Bella Dye, a 3-year-old girl from Bakersfield, CA.

Friendly rivals: Barefoot-McLamb relations

Red Sox vs. Yankees.  Celtics vs. Lakers.  Real Madrid vs. Barcelona.  Coke vs. Pepsi.

Now add Barefoot vs. McLamb to the list of great rivalries.

Both families have a shared history in the same region of North Carolina - where Johnston, Sampson, and Harnett counties intersect - for well over a century.  And now it carries over to Idealia.  However, Brandon McLamb, Buddy Wayne Barefoot's longtime friend and former publicist, insists that the rivalry is good-natured. 

"No matter how much we talk about hating each other, in the end we call it a day and shake hands.  Of course, we love to boast about who wears the better clothes, catch the most fish, or who would win a massive balloon fight, but in the end, we know our limits.  After all, we couldn't kill ourselves - literally - even if we wanted to."

Even in the pre-Idealian period, members of both families were often friends and even married each other, so it doesn't surprise the bearers of those names that they share a lot in common.  Today, the relationship continues on the same path: their homesteads are across the road from each other and there's even talk of one day building a land bridge for easier access.

With that being said, there are points of tension between the clans.  Shayla McLamb was B.W.'s first wife, and their marriage was well-awaited by both families and highly publicized due to the groom's celebrity.  However, when B.W. found "Bluegrass" Brittany Spears more attractive, Shayla was quickly dumped, feels scorned to this day, and has rallied her family against the Barefoots.  In addition, B.W. had to forgive Brandon McLamb for writing the script for Last Night in Vegas, a post-Armageddon motion picture that was supposed to be a tool for youth ministry but which turned into a highly secular film with a soundtrack culled from songs on contemporary hit radio stations.

Nonetheless, some have used pranks to lighten the mood.  Bunky Barefoot is notorious for putting Jell-O and eggs on top of beds in the McLamb household, and Ronnie Dale McLamb often sends letters asking Barefoots to do impossible or ridiculous tasks.  "When I do those pranks, I feel really good," Bunky says.  "It helps take my mind off of the enormous task of trying to adapt to not living a modern life."

Every first Saturday in July, the families come together for the Barefoot-McLamb Block Party, for which B.W. Barefoot and Brandon McLamb are the co-organizers.  Activities include tree-climbing, belly flops off a waterfall, and mud bogging (used vehicles driven into a mud pit).  There are two buffet meals and a nighttime talent show, at which B.W. always has a starring role with a concert of his hit songs.  However, the highlight is the water balloon fight that involves every member of both families.  The winning team gets a trophy for one year.

"To have it in our house is the sweetest feeling in the world," says Ralph, who won it for his family in the most recent event with the winning toss.  "All those McLambs can do is look at it, as that's the closest to death they'll experience.  And if they had the trophy, we would feel the same way."  (Of course, Ralph says all that with a laugh.  Even all-family balloon fights aren't taken that seriously.)

The block party takes up the entire 300-acre combined area of the family estates and is a welcome day off in the midst of the farming season.

Avatar: "Brandon McLamb" is Matthew R. Barefoot, an oral surgeon in Savannah, GA.  Interestingly, Matthew Barefoot, like namesakes and fellow avatars Amanda (Brandy) and Justin (Harvey), have attended the University of North Carolina, Wilmington at various times.  And he has a common link to Brandy (Jennifer): Matthew earned his master of doctorate degree at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, while Brandy had a successful kidney transplant at UAB Medical Center in February 2012.

Roll sheet at Ms. Crabtree's one-room schoolhouse

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Shirley Mae Crabtree's one-room schoolhouse in the home and farm life post.  As a sidebar, here's the entire roster of 22 students who currently attend.  I've culled the last names from the Idealia post.

• Belinda Marie BAREFOOT
• Bryson Hoyt BAREFOOT
• Hartley Rockwell BASS
• Malinda Annabelle BATTLE
• Michael Elijah BELK
• Robinette Marie BLOW
• Bonnie Elizabeth BOATWRIGHT
• Oliver Alonzo BRAYBOY
• Hannah Brooke (Brookie) BRICKHOUSE
• Cody Joe BROOKSHIRE
• Randy Dean BUFFALOE
• Danny Mac BUTT
• Mariah Claire CRABTREE
• William John CRABTREE
• Larry Wayne LEAK
• Rebecca LaVaughn LIGHTFOOT
• Lee Bob MCCLAMMY
• Laura Elizabeth MCLAMB
• Braylor Tripp MCPATTER
• Peggy Ellen PEACOCK
• Bobby Dwayne SMALLS
• Billy Wayne TIMBERLAKE