In Search of Jimmy - Chapter One - Introduction to Johnny Reno
Hello Parrotheads! I wrote in a post recently about my intention to continue writing a Jimmy Buffett'esque story I started years ago and publish it in small chapters to my Facebook writing page and here on Substack.
The story is about a Sports Writer/Parrothead that lives in Cincinnati who decides to visit some of the places JB sang about to find his own adventures and maybe get into some mischief along the way.
I'm very excited about this endeavor we are about to share together. So without further ado, let's get started. Here is your "First Look" introduction to the main character of the story.
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My name is John Frederick Rutherford. I realize it is a stuffy name; a stuffy name for a not so stuffy guy. I go by John, but most people know me by my nickname and soon to be author pen name, Johnny Reno.
The nickname was given to me by one of my old editors years ago when I was an intern for the Nashville Banner. It's a nod to the movie, which starred Dana Andrews and Jane Russell. It was his favorite movie and soon my nickname was shortened to just Reno.
I am a passionate Parrothead and have been a lover of Jimmy's music since I was a young boy when I heard my first Buffett song. My mother loved music and was a big JB fan, so she introduced me to almost all of his older stuff.
She also made sure I was well read with all types of literature and culture in my life. Looking back though, everything seemed to center around Jimmy's philosophy of escapism and fun, in moderation of course.
I am a Sports Writer for the Cincinnati Gazette. I'm creeping up on forty soon and I think I'm starting a midlife crisis. I have not really done anything with my life up to this point except be a decently successful journalist.
Recently, I've had an invisible tug pulling at me to travel and go and do things. I've always wanted to be like Jimmy and travel to exotic places, meet strange and beautiful people, and have adventures.
Let us step back in time for a moment to give a little background and perspective. I was a young boy and my dad had a portable battery-operated radio in our basement that barely picked up the local radio station. I hung out with my dad a lot in our basement. He was an engineer so he tinkered with things all the time down there, including our '69 Volkswagen Beetle.
The songs came in good enough through the little, old radio except for the occasional static. It was the mid 80's and I was too young to realize it, but I was listening to some of the greatest rock 'n roll ever to be created. I remember a song came on the radio with a melody like I had never heard before.
Even though it wasn't considered Rock ‘n Roll, the song was played anyway because of its popularity. I didn't know it at the time, but that song would help define my outlook on life and my character as a person. The song was, of course, 'Margaritaville'.
The path my father had for me was different than what I wanted. He wanted me to become an architect and go to the same technical university he attended. I went to that university out of respect for him, but I did not study architecture. Instead, much to his dismay, I studied English and now I write about heroes and crooks, only in the sports world.
It was not until years after I heard 'Margaritaville' for the first time that I became a true Parrothead. I went to my first show when I was in college at Riverbend Amphitheater in Cincinnati.
It was everything I hoped it would be. Grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, margaritas, congo lines, and lots of beautiful women. Jimmy was the conductor of a perfectly choreographed circus on stage and his charm and smile made you forget everything and just smile back at him. Did I mention the beautiful women?
It seemed he played Riverbend every time he toured, sometimes he would do a few shows there during that summer's tour, and I didn't miss a single one from my first show until the last time he played there.
Jimmy's death was a gut punch. I was laying in bed on that Saturday morning, looking at my phone, when a headline popped up. I thought maybe I was still asleep so I read it again. I knew something was going on with Jimmy because of some show cancellations and he wasn't on tour the summer.
Like a lot of people, I was in shock and disbelief. I didn't know what to do. The first week after was a fog. Hundreds of thousands of people were pouring their hearts out on social media. I wrote on my account, "Saturday was devastating when the news broke, Sunday was hard because it didn't seem real, and Monday came and we are not alright."
Sleep was hard to come by during that time, then it hit me on one of those sleepless nights. I thought why not do what I always wanted to do and go to some of the places Jimmy sang about. It would help my grieving process, so I made the decision to go in search of Jimmy.
Then I had the idea to write about my travels and adventures. I figured it will take some years considering I’m not a trust fund baby and I have to work.
So, I'm going to take my vacation time when I can and visit a different place and write about my adventures. I’m a social butterfly kind of guy who likes to play poker, drink Margaritas, throw darts, drink beer, play pool, drink margaritas, so I figure I'll be able to fit in and do well.
Speaking of that sweet and sour nectar of the gods, getting the taste of a Margarita perfect has to be one of life’s great pleasures. However, when you order one in a bar or in a restaurant, sometimes you really never know how it’s going to taste. It’s a total crap shoot.
That’s why if you ever find a joint or bartender that can make a good Margarita, you stay with them. Some places will try to give you cheap tequila even when you ask for top shelf. Most of the time you have to ask for Triple Sec.
If you ever want to get a little crazy, you can do what I love and have them add a shot of Amaretto and have yourself an Italian Margarita. That's my personal favorite.
I found a hole in the wall in Cincinnati that serves a pretty good Margarita, but the best I’ve ever had was in a little shack down in Key West.
Until next time Parrotheads!
In Search of Jimmy©
John Clayton Hale
Five Horizons Publishing
All Rights Reserved
11/25/2023