The Navy transferred Dad to Gulfport, Mississippi, sometime in 1975, and the house we first rented was just outside his duty station at the Seabee base. Two kids, Noel and Roel, lived next door, and their dad, being a Seabee also, gave us an immediate bond. Age wise, I was in the middle of the trio, and it seems we were always at each other's houses. We became like brothers.
Back then, Mom worked nights as a nurse at Memorial Hospital just down the street. When Dad was deployed, she'd drop me off next door before her shift so I wouldn't be alone at night. The next morning before school, their mom would serve up bowls of grits for breakfast (grits is still a comfort food for me today).
Noel is the closest I've got to a big brother, and he was always looking out for me. He backed me up when my mouth got me in trouble with the neighborhood toughs, tried to show me how to strike up non-awkward conversations with the fairer sex, and attempted to broaden my musical tastes.
At that time, I was firmly entrenched in this odd Country-Western | Roger Whittaker | Classical Music combination as seen in past Rock-tober entries. One day, back in the summer between 6th and 7th grade, he called me up. "Hey, Wayne, come over and check out this record. I think you'll like it. It sounds country."
The "country sounding" song he was referring to was "Against the Wind."
That summer day was my introduction to Bob Seger, who, as readers of these Rock-tober missives know, became one of my favorite artists. It was also a foray into a non-Country genre that eventually went on to include everyone from AC/DC to ZZ Top. This was a good thing in Noel's eyes. He was always worried that I'd dork out and cruise Jeff Davis Avenue in the 'Stang blaring Beethoven's 5th.
In a roundabout way that afternoon was also one of the origins for Rock-tober.
Thanks, Big Brother.
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