I was rummaging through some of the treasures around the prairie dog offices when I found a copy of Ian Tyson’s 2010 memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West. Tyson’s a Canadian legend, first as part of 60s and 70s folk duo Ian and Sylvia then as a solo artist who continues to tour today.
The random first page that I opened the book to and the first line my eyes landed on was just perfect. Observe:
When I worked with Sylvia alone, since she loved me and was an old-fashioned girl, she pretty much did what I told her to do.
I haven’t read the book, but it had better be that for all of its 197 pages.
I’ve interviewed Ian Tyson, that sounds about right. In fact, an editor may have helped him tease that sentence out.
I am willing to (figuratively) bet that all the memoirs of old timey dudes inevitably contain that sentence…