BITTERSWEET, Ky. — Today is a bittersweet one for me. My Uncle Bobby was laid to rest with friends and family gathered together to say goodbye.

 

For those of you who are regular readers, thanks for allowing me to stray from my normal discussion of our favorite country music performers.

For those of you thinking, What’s your uncle’s funeral got to do with music? I’ll get to that later.

My uncle was the younger brother of my father and the last of eight siblings to pass away. He served in the Air Force and was also a Korean War veteran. He spent most of the last two decades serving the American Legion at all levels.

Besides God and his family, nothing was more important to him than doing all he could to honor his fellow veterans and soldiers everywhere.

The passion he had in all that he did is something we don’t see enough of today. We get busy and think someone else will do the job or take care of the task.

That was not him; he jumped into every job he ever had and gave it his all. In fact, he was preparing to visit a veteran’s nursing home, as he often did, before he passed.

During his funeral, many songs were played, from a Johnny Cash hymn to the Air Force theme. We even stood and said the Pledge of Allegiance.

These songs were special to him in many ways.

As I sat and sang to myself through a lot of tears, I thought about what songs I would like played when it’s my time. I feel like others were doing the same thing. My point is, our love of music touches us every time we turn on the radio in the car or we sit back in our recliners, pop in our ear-buds and listen to our favorite tunes through our phones and computers.

It’s a way to relax, to feel good and, for me, today, to remember those in my life who have left this world. One of my dad’s favorite songs was “Danny Boy.” He would sing it softly to us when we were kids, as a lullaby. It was performed at his funeral. I’m sure the songs I heard today were sung by my uncle many times.

I say all of that to say this: Music is a big part of our lives from beginning to end and, in a way, defines us. (By the way, the one song I want played when it’s my time is the Jimmy Davis version of “I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone.”) As for my Uncle Bobby, he gave the best hugs, always said he loved us andgave his all in all he  id. I hope someone can say the same for me when my song is played.

Bluegrass Johnson comes from a long line of country music performers and enjoys a passion for the rhythm and melody. From the hills of Kentucky, he will offer his opinions on a variety of new country music each week. Readers with questions or comments may write to Johnson in care of this publication.