Derek and the Dominoes

In my opinion, this was the best band that there ever was in its short existence. In the 70's I had an original copy of "Layla, and other love songs" and it is still my favorite album. When I hear the first strains of the guitar on "Layla" my heart and mind flip in concert together and I see myself in Criteria Studios in Miami with these guys and Duane Allman putting together the album. When you look at the pictures which were originally included in the interior of the double album, you can almost feel the heat of a summer in Miami, Florida and taste the alcohol and seafood being consumed and smell the marihauna floating over the scene like incense. I don't know whose dog it is but I even like the dog in the picture. Unfortunately, Duane Allman died within a year of the album. Carl Radle died in the late 80's, I believe. Jim Gordon is in prison in California for murdering his mother (he suffers from schizophrenia). As far as I know, only Slowhand himself and Bobby Whitlock are still with us. I wonder about the girl staring into the camera in one of the pictures. Who was she? Where is she now?

I was a young man when that picture was taken. It transports me to Dunwoody in 1970. Eighth grade at Peachtree High School. 115 lb. Atlanta Colts. Camping out in the woods near the Balfour's house. Vacation trips to Naples, Florida. Visiting grandmommie and granddaddy at the farm and Dee Dee in her apartment in Hopkinsville. At the farm, there were always ice cream sandwiches in the freezer on the back porch. Dee Dee always kept glass bottles of water with every kid's name on it so we wouldn't argue about whose was whose. She always seemed to have the frozen popsickles in her freezer. I remember visiting Dee Dee at the courthouse in Hopkinsville. Walking through the woods at the farm, finding robin's eggs on the edge of the pond. Chasing cattle through the fields, avoiding the cow manure. Eating barbecue at the Pick-a-rib.

How about eating shrimp sizzle at Kelly's Fishhouse in Naples and watching the shrimpboats coming into dock after supper? Feeling the heat of the sunburn on my arms and face in the evening. One time mom and dad had rented the last rental nearest the beach and Frank and I shared the last room overlooking the Gulf. One night, I awoke in the middle of the night and could see a figure sitting in the chair, through the dim light, seeming to stare at us. I lay there in the bed staring at the figure, wondering who it was and what he wanted. Finally, I popped up out of the covers and realized that the figure in the chair was just Frank's shirt hung on the arms and back of the chair.

Sometimes a vivid imagination is more of a hinderance than a help.

There was so much going on in the early 70's. But sometimes I feel as if the world was going on away from us and we were just floating in our own little pond. We had such good times. While others struggled and battled to gain something they saw as significant.

Well, it is still Spring here and the moment in which I find myself is really hard to beat.