A TINY SLICE OF LIFE FROM NENA AND JIM. . . . . . HAS IT COME TO THIS, JIM?

Origin of Petit Jean River on Petit Jean Mountain

Nena and I ended up in Danville, Arkansas in 1970.  Long story.

Danville was a quaint little town of 1,200 on the banks of the Petit Jean River, a small stream that descended from Petit Jean Mountain, the home of then Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, a super rich guy who pretended to raise Santa Gertrudis cattle on his mountain top ranch.  

Our main friends in Danville were Leroy and Bernice Dennis.  Bernice worked at the Danville Grill, a place where your coffee cup never dipped below the halfway point and waitresses called you "Sugar" or "Honey."

Leroy was the quintessential good ol' Arkansas boy, who hunted, fished, could fix anything or build anything, but humbly would not admit to any actual skill.(I found this trait common among Arkansas folk.)

Nena and I, 1972
Yes, I've always worn
flip flops.

In 1972 Nena and I made our only visit to the Danville Theater to see the the Concert for Bangladesh, filmed in Madison Square Garden, arranged by George Harrison, who played along with Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and others. Surprisingly for a country town, the theater was packed.

Nena was eight months pregnant with our son, known locally as Diego Lee Rot.

George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh Movie

During the movie, Nena experienced the most vigorous kicking by our unborn son, nothing like it before that time or after.  

Years later, Diego totally wore out our copy of "All Things Must Pass," George Harrison's three record set released after the breakup of the Beatles, playing it in his bedroom without our knowing.  I'm not saying it, but had he not liked that music even before birth?

In the mid-eighties, Nena, Diego and I were the ONLY patrons in a Jacksonville, Arkansas theater to watch Paul McCartney's flop of a film, "Give My Regards to Broadstreet."

Yes, three fish out of water citizens of the world in an Arkansas theater giving our regards to our ex-Beatle friend and mentor!