Friday, September 7, K2
Daily Nebraskan
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ByJeffKorbciik
Dally Nfbraskin CUffVYrtler
There was a man in black Thursday
at the Dob Devaney Sports Center.
He stared out at the quiet audience
from behind a dark curtain, slowly
tapping one of his platform shoes.
But the quiet moment ended when
the announcer yelled out, Truly a
legend in his own time." By then he was
on stage and the Johnny Cash Show
had officially begun.
It would have been hard to find one
person in the near capacity crowd
around who didnt know the worcb to his
songs; "Ring of Fire," "Ghost Riders in
the Sky," "Sunday Morning Side
walk," "Folsom Prison Blues," . . . These
were just a few of the songs performed
by Cash, all of which the audience
greeted enthusiastically.
At first the show seemed to have
everything. A country music veteran of
30 years, his five-piece band, a revolv
ing stage, and yes, even a couple of his
current hit videos with which Gash
sang along.
Things might have been overdone a
little however, with the addition of his
wife, June Carter Cash, and her sister,
Anita. After a rousing duet of "If I Were
a Carpenter," Johnny decided to take a
break, leaving the two to take care of
the last 20 minutes of the show's 40-
minute first half.
Although he was back on stage for the
second half of the show many in the
audience didnt like his disappearance.
But one fan understood.
"I guess even legends like that need a
break once in awhile."
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Another ordinary day
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lor siceeter jonnson
"A Dfiy in The life cf E&sty
S&seter JcJaaon" (. . .Or. a
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Wcr!l)
The clock-radio blared on at
precisely 7:26 a.m., Rusty "Skee
ter" Johnson listened with eyes
still closed to Michael Jackson's
Pepsi plug "Beat It," and couldnt
3
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Shaffer
decide whether this bit of early
morning advice suggested that
he should hop out of bed or
masturbate.
Since his boss had threatened
to fire him if he was late for work
again, Skeeter made a hasty dash
for some instant coffee and a pop
tart. Turning on the tube, he
learned that the icebusters had
returned to earth safely. That
reminded him of Bob Kerrey wear
ing a Ghostbusters T-shirt. Skeet
er chuckled, a meaningless chuckle
for himself, like a tree that falls in
the forest with no one around to
hear it.
At the office, Skeeter shuffled
some printouts around. He drank
more coffee and smoked three
Marlboros. He studied the sports
page and worried about the Hus
kers. He asked his colleagues a
seemingly constant worry of late.
"Can Craig Sundberg do the
job?"
McDonalds lured him in at lunch
time. On the way there he heard
HueyNews on the radio.
"Boy, that guy can rock," Skeet
er thought. He pondered the
thought of getting scalped tickets
for the show at the state fair, but
only for a second.
"Take your order, Skeetr
The usual, please, Eeglna."
Back at his trailer, home for
lunch and a soap, Skeets caught
up with "As the World Turns" and
picked up his maiL Two utility
bills and an overdrawn notice.
While Big Mac-ing,Skeeter wished
that Betsy would get over her
amnesia and Steve Andropolous
would get out of jail on his bum
murder rap.
Back at work, Skeeter thought
that his boss was a big jerk. Un
fortunately, Skeeter was right. He
went to his cubicle and turned on
his computer and started pro
cessing. He processed this and he
processed that. He got off work at
five.
Walking to the 7-11, Skeets de
cided to do some shopping. He
bought some beer and microwaved
a burrito. Skeeter rushed home
to catch the daily "Three's Com
pany" double-header.
"NothhV beats a tough day at
the office like a good dose of sex
jokes and slapstick," said Skeeter
to himself, his words falling like a
tree in an empty forest.
Evening. It's the time to paint
the town red or at least hit the
A&W and.a drive-in, thought the
thoughtful Skeeter. The garrulous
sort he was though, Skeet opted
instead for a romp at the Tap
Room, the frequent haunt ofHas
ting's most raucous types.
The Tap was jumping. People
playing pool, people playing pin
ball, people picking on and pick
ing up people, people plugging
the jukebox. Skeet had fun and
jfot drunk.
Alter hitting on and being reject
ed by a Linda Beerman lookalike,
Skeets decided to go home and
watch the real item on the news.
He wz3 too late, but he did catch
Mel Mains and an item about a
barn burning in Hickman.
Skeeter went to sleep, woke up
at 7:25 a,m. the next day, and did
the ssma thkig.
It i3 a beautiful world.
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