Road Trip: Lubbock, TX.

1. I hear a story.

Buddy Holly’s got a little bit of money, for the first time in his life. He goes with his mates to the local dealer to buy a Harley. He wants to do a Brando in The Wild One, ride down to Dallas. The people in the showroom laugh - ‘Yeah, like you can afford a Harley? You just want a free ride on one, kid. Get out of here.’ Buddy doesn’t care, says, ‘Come on guys,’ and leads them across the street to another dealer. There, he buys an Ariel - a 1958 650cc Cyclone. Cool. His mates buy a Triumph TR6 and a Thunderbird. They add in some Levi jackets and peaked caps and head off through a thunderstorm on their English steeds, making sure they noisily drive a couple of times past the Harley place first...

***

2. I look at a guitar.

It’s Buddy’s Fender Strat. I see the pick he’d placed for the next gig (as usual) between the body of the guitar and the pickguard.

Buddy took the plane to that next gig. The guitar took the bus. He was 22.