Steel Magnolia’s Joshua Scott Jones Relives Childhood Dreams

In this first of Steel Magnolia's series of blogs for The Boot, the duo's Joshua Scott Jones takes us on a touching trip down memory lane.

The Road: Part 1 ("Ticks and Burrs")

As a kid growing up in the heartland, the road was much different than what has now become "The Road" as a traveling musician.

My first memory of the road was a four-way intersection where my mom and dad's drafty country house sat off of Rural Route One surrounded by corn and soybean fields as far as the eye could see. They say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," and at this juncture in my life, I have to say I agree. But at eight years old, growing up as the only child it was paved with big dreams, imaginary scenarios and more often than not dead vermin that I would always stop and poke at with a stick or a corn cob out of curiosity. I suppose not that much has changed aside from the stiff vermin.

About a mile west of my parents' home was a creek and an old rusty windmill where my dog Scruffy and I would wander off towards on any given day. We may as well have been Lewis and Clark. Scruffy was a little yellow ball of fur, he looked like a dust mop with a black nose. He was my whole world and my best friend. After every adventure, he would be full of ticks and burrs. Mom and I had to sit around and take the scissors to him every few months or so, and sometimes me too. Southeastern Illinois has some of the richest farmland on the planet, and years before ole Scruffy and I were perusing the great plains of Illinois in search of the unknown, the Illini Indians were inhabiting the exact area where we lived. We would find all sorts of arrowheads and Indian beads throughout the land which was always so fascinating to me to hold a part of American history in the palms of my hands.

A few years later, my mom took me to Sears to get "back to school" clothes. I had my whole arrowhead collection in my jeans pocket, took them out in a dressing room and left them there by accident. It broke my heart and I cried. About a year ago I lost a guitar in a hotel in Ohio that was never seen again. It was disappointing but the good people at Taylor Guitars were kind enough to send me a new one. Fortunately, this situation of loss was different for me. I had no emotional attachment to that guitar, it wasn't a center piece of American history and certainly didn't have any sentimental attachment to my childhood.

The road was full of adventure and disappointment then and now. I never dreamed I would visit such places like San Francisco or New York City as a poor barefoot dreamer. Growing up in the heartland, those places were reserved for movies and song titles. So, the time spent on the road is invaluable. At every turn and twist, at every hill and slope, making the most of your time at every stop and embracing the weather in each city is the real treasure. As the road winds and friends dine, try to keep as many "Scruffys" around as possible. Because believe me, in show business, you have to pluck the ticks and burrs every so often.

Signing off and singing on ...

Yours truly,

Joshua Scott Jones