Letter From Graceyland

I always appreciate that .50 cal round that your d...

2011-08-30T11:51:21.563-05:00

I always appreciate that .50 cal round that your dad allowed you to present at Show and Tell in kindergarten. Harry

Robbie, the blog on my mother is August 3rd. http...

2011-08-29T21:31:16.704-05:00

Robbie, the blog on my mother is August 3rd.

http://graceyland.blogspot.com/2009_08_03_archive.html

Thanks for the prayers and for getting in touch!!

Joe

Joe, I have not seen you since your hospital room...

2011-08-29T09:37:02.117-05:00

Joe,

I have not seen you since your hospital room in 1977, but my brother, Randy, has told me some about you through your brother, Bill. I loved reading yesterday's American-Statesman article about you. I'll try to find your blog about your mom's funeral.

You are in my prayers. Peace!

Your Bilglade neighbor,

Robby Vickery

Lemme know when you're settled into the villag...

2011-08-21T06:33:48.908-05:00

Lemme know when you're settled into the village; I'd love to come see you guys, and I figure that B&B there is just waiting for my call.

Been a good year for the grapes, apparently; talk is it's gonna be a major vintage.

You are my inspiration! I so look forward to the ...

2011-08-20T17:43:09.172-05:00

You are my inspiration! I so look forward to the day I can give you a big hug! If I don't see you before you leave, give France a big Kiss for me!

Love you Joe!!

2011-08-20T15:36:39.998-05:00

Love you Joe!!

I was talking to God about you today.I love you so...

2011-08-20T15:29:27.598-05:00

I was talking to God about you today.I love you so!

Joe, please tell us when you are coming to France!...

2011-08-20T15:00:38.628-05:00

Joe, please tell us when you are coming to France!! We are coming to visit you for sure!!

And of course, I thought about you and Kimmie many times during these past months, so it's good news that after all the suffering you are able to come to Occitània to enjoy life. You deserve it, pal!

Love u, truly. Get well. Come here soon!

OK Joe I found it. This is great stuff. Next th...

2011-05-22T23:55:31.188-05:00

OK Joe

I found it. This is great stuff. Next thing we know you'll be hanging out with R Crumb and producing 78's

Cheers,

Nick Spitzer
American Routes

Very nice idea, Joe G. I'm going to try it. It...

2011-04-22T06:53:05.720-05:00

Very nice idea, Joe G. I'm going to try it. It's hard to find satisfying rituals, but I do feel the need. Chele

Great to see you blogging again. Maybe this will ...

2010-11-29T08:23:14.618-06:00

Great to see you blogging again.

Maybe this will be covered in the next blog post, but is it a pain for Americans to buy property in France? And how on earth did you find out about this place?

Love this, and wonderful photo, looking forward to...

2010-11-28T09:10:21.960-06:00

Love this, and wonderful photo, looking forward to more. Congrats on being able to live in such a beautiful, historic place.

Love this, beautiful country and positive story. ...

2010-11-28T09:08:48.161-06:00

Love this, beautiful country and positive story. Sure hope there is more coming soon

Ahem. The Cathars weren't exactly protestants....

2010-11-28T08:10:55.361-06:00

Ahem. The Cathars weren't exactly protestants. Or, rather, Protestants. What they were were heretics. That's not as negative an assessment as it sounds: it simply means that they were (very much) at odds with the way the Church wanted things run in Rome. In English, their belief system was called the Albigensian Heresy, because it was centered in Albi, although some of the more dramatic moments happened in Béziers and Carcassonne. Personally, I find the Cathar belief system (everything evil is the result of mankind, we're all doomed because we're sinners from birth) very much at odds with the beautiful countryside it grew up in, and its practice (priests were called perfects, and were absolute dictators of their congregations, with literally the power of life or death over individuals: when it was your time to die, the perfect would tell you, and then you had to stop eating and drinking until you died, although this usually only occurred when it was obvious someone was terminal -- but sometimes it was a way to dispose of enemies). On the one hand, what happened to them was horrible. On the other hand, I don't think the movement had much of a future.

Protestantism is quite another matter, and it was centuries later, in the wake of Martin Luther. For that, you want to look up Wars of Religion. And yes, all around here they had immense power. To this day there are tons of Protestant churches: you can tell them because they're built in the style of a classical temple, with pillars, and no steeple. Louis XIV and the Pope ganged up on them, and if you ever come down here, I can show you exactly how that affected the local architecture. The star-fort in the center of town (now a high-school, appropriately enough) is just the most obvious example.

After the Revolution, the French finally got their shit together about religion down here and started fighting about things that made sense, like wine prices.

Thanks, Kayte! funny thing, Mothers...

2010-05-11T12:37:01.892-05:00

Thanks, Kayte! funny thing, Mothers...

Really liked this idea....looking forward to readi...

2010-05-09T09:16:42.248-05:00

Really liked this idea....looking forward to reading future and past blogs....thanks for sharing

Sounds like I need to borrow that book as well!

2010-03-25T20:50:35.243-05:00

Sounds like I need to borrow that book as well!

Thanks, Joie!

2010-03-03T15:16:43.955-06:00

Thanks, Joie!

Joe, Looks wonderful! I've been keeping up wi...

2010-03-03T14:57:24.678-06:00

Joe,
Looks wonderful! I've been keeping up with your updates on Twitter, but haven't been to your site in a while. It's good to be back.

can't wait to hear you sing and cuss and smack...

2010-01-28T13:33:40.834-06:00

can't wait to hear you sing and cuss and smack your lips after devouring a pile of delicious food!

I look forward to the day that I can hear you tell...

2009-12-29T05:18:44.756-06:00

I look forward to the day that I can hear you tell me to go fuck myself.

You are a good man, Gracey, which is a good thing because you would surely make one damned ugly woman.

Wall

So good to see a new post from you Joe. Undoubtedl...

2009-12-22T20:24:30.909-06:00

So good to see a new post from you Joe. Undoubtedly, the folks at MD Anderson are absolute hero's. Ah, winter soups. Got a venison goulash thingy simmering on the stove right now chock full of beets. Don't forget you have a hand picked bison hump steak on hold for you, for when you're ready to sink those new teeth into it. Looking forward to more recipes.

what good news! i'll be listening for you, jo...

2009-12-13T00:31:04.058-06:00

what good news! i'll be listening for you, joe ...

Thanks guys....enjoy thinking of you reading this ...

2009-12-12T15:33:31.744-06:00

Thanks guys....enjoy thinking of you reading this stuff...

It was a real pleasure to read your posting, Joe. ...

2009-12-11T22:49:14.711-06:00

It was a real pleasure to read your posting, Joe. Though we've never met in person, I've very much enjoyed our interactions over the Internet for some years now - and to get this from you just before Christmas is delightful!

As I received it, I was in the process of having a go at hot smoking some New Zealand salmon fillets. Summer is just setting in here...

Stay well, and keep cooking that soup.

Nick
Tauranga, New Zealand