A December drive from the Bay Area back to Chicago

 

A lot of stories around Sunnyland Slim revolve around cars and weather - for example Paul De Marks testament in Sunnyland Blues about a ride through the snow from Arkansas to S.F. The road has taken many musicians, and there are many tales. It's the life of the road. Jim Haas recently shared a memory of a ride through snow from S.F. to Chicago with Sunnyland, which we are very glad to publish here. For non-stop musical inspiration, be sure to listen to Jim's on-demand Al Compas del Mundo Radioactiva  radio show and visit his Al Compas delMundo blog which chronicles the music.

 A December drive from the Bay Area back to Chicago - In Slim's old station wagon with Sister Sarah along for the ride. We took turns driving. Listening to them exchanging small talk and recollections during many hours was an education all by itself. Regrettably, I don't recall much if anything of the subject matter with one exception. Sarah got talking about life back in Mississippi and dialed in on the fact that black snakes there look to suckle off of pregnant women or recent mothers. They both were in agreement that this was a fact and something to take caution from. I had never heard about that in Racine! A day or so later as we got closer to the Midwest, we got caught up in a terrible ice storm. Around 4:00am Slim declares his brakes have gone out. Fortunately there's almost no one on the road as he drifts off the highway (not an interstate) to an exit ramp where a service station sits. "There's nobody here now who can work on your brakes, Mister. They're all out getting folks out of ditches and the like. Maybe later this morning." Slim decides he doesn't want to sit around this place for any lengthy time and declares we'll just keep on going. With a full tank of gas and little if any other traffic, we barreled along  at a moderate speed but with no need to stop. Once we actually got into the suburbs of Chicago, however, there was a stop sign or two. Slim either just rolled on through or swerved into the snow bank on the side of the road to slow us down. To this day I'm still filled with admiration and disbelief that he navigated us from route 66, northwards and through the streets of the city during an enormous winter storm, all the way to his home, without any brakes. RIP Sunnyland Slim. - J.H.