Earl - Susannah Azzaro

I check the
Open Culture blog
this morning it’s a video of
Earl Scruggs and Steve Martin and others
playing on David Letterman about 10 years ago
I watch the video and follow the link to Martin’s
New Yorker article about Scruggs
his hero
I haven’t finished it yet
I’ll go back later
It’s the paragraph about
Earl, 10, following his fingers
in the backyard of his Flint Hill, NC home
after a fight with his brother
he makes a mistake and begins
picking with his third finger
that moment
he discovers his voice
what makes Earl Earl
I’ve never followed Scruggs or his music
although I love Bluegrass
I start crying

for that precious moment
Earl made that mistake.

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” he said
no turning back after that

for my own children
who will never pick a banjo in
our backyard

for me
44
wondering
if I will ever yell,
“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”

 3/30/12