We were really sad today to hear of the tragic death of Charlie Derrington. Charlie was a master luthier, probably the most respected in his field. He was the only person Bill Monroe trusted to repair his mandolin after it was nearly destroyed back in the 80's.
I try to avoid political here, but, it does bring up the point that Charlie was killed by an illegal immigrant,one who had already once been deported, who probably couldn't speak English, read road signs and was free to drive down Briley Parkway, the wrong way. Also, the point that he died because of somebody drunk being able to get behind the wheel of a car. The whole thing is absolutely sickening and senseless. Call me racist and intolerant, if you must, but, it makes me angry.
Politics aside, there's a wife without her husband tonight and a little girl without her daddy, as well as lots of friends and associates who will forever miss Charlie. It was just about more than I could stand to see our dear friend and fellow Grascal Danny Roberts, so grief stricken, he could hardly speak to Channel 2's Andy Cordan about it.
Take a whiff of Sista Smiff and you'll come back for more, that's fo sho!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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6 comments:
I had the exact same thoughts. The illegal drunk driver was already breaking so many laws what was one more? He has/had nothing to lose and will probably face fewer penalties than someone local would have.
What a terrible loss. Charlie's talent is irreplaceable.
Wow. That's horrible. Just got back in town last night, so I hadn't heard the news. :(
Also, the point that he died because of somebody drunk being able to get behind the wheel of a car.
Yes ma'am. That's been my objection to the blatant politicizing of that couple in Hermitage's death. Illegal immigration is not the issue in this case -- our wussy DUI laws are. Why do we not take somebody's car when they're convicted of DUI like we do when the TWRA busts them for jacking deer from a vehicle? Yes, I know taking their cars away won't stop them from borrowing somebody else's cars and driving drunk again. But at least the thought of losing their vehicles might be a deterrent to drunk driving.
Immediate pistol-whipping and appendage-breaking on the site of an accident with injuries or fatalities upon blowing more than .08 on the breathalyzer also might be a deterrent. And I'll certainly volunteer for that duty in my home county. (Did it to a cousin who got a third DUI, though thank the good Lord he never hit anybody before he finally got sober.)
And, most importantly, I'm sorry for the loss of a good man. They never run over the pedophiles and animal abusers, do they?
P.S. -- I just remembered, from back in my reporter days, when the talk first started about lowering the legal alcohol limit to .08. I got a press release from an alcohol lobbying association telling me they wanted to tell "the other side of the story."
I actually called them and said, "What? You want me to tell people that you don't ALWAYS run over busloads of little handicapped children and grannies? That it's OKAY to be drunk off your butt and get in the car every ONCE IN A WHILE as long as you're just driving home and don't hit anybody?"
They sputtered and stammered a while and then said they wanted me to explain how it wasn't fair to lower the limit because that meant some people might not be able to drink as much as they could before. I laughed meanly and hung up on them. Gah.
I have been reading your blog daily for some time now, and was somewhat taken aback when I saw your post about Charlie, having just read about his death in my hometown newspaper - where he also grew up. I was a little kid when Charlie was high school age and my family owned a drug store with a snack bar on the court square, so the town teenagers were frequently in and out of the store and I knew many of them from there. Charlie was one of the funniest people EVER and always made me laugh. I had not seen him in over 30 years but it had not been that long ago since he crossed my mind and that gave me a chuckle. I was not aware of what he had done in his career as an adult, and being a Gibson guitar fan myself, I have been just amazed to learn all I have about his career since learning of his death. What a terrible tragedy and it makes me very sad that the world has lost this fine, talented, and absolutely hilarious man.
Wow...it's a small world. Thanks for sharing that. Seems to be the common sentiment about him. I didn't know him, but, saw him a lot here and there for years.
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