This makes me sad.

Country great Waylon Jennings dead at 64.

When Julie 'n me was courtin' (maybe this was in 1996?) I told her that I'd heard Waylon Jennings' tour bus was there in Memphis. I thought that was pretty exciting, because Waylon Jennings was always the epitome of country cool to me. I'm sure this was mostly due to his stint as "The Balladeer" on The Dukes of Hazzard, one of my favorite childhood shows.

Julie told me, "Oh yeah, he's my uncle."

I was blown away. At this point, I knew Julie's dad was one of several children, and of course her last name was Jennings. I don't think I'd met any of her uncles.

Then Julie told me, "He sometimes stops by our house when he's on tour."

[THUNK] went my jaw on the floor.

So I excitedly asked, "Do you think I could meet him?"

She strung me along for a while before admitting she was making it all up. We'd just had a particularly savage experience of me tricking her with an outrageous lie in front of several friends, so she was looking for revenge. She really got me good.

(By the way, the reason they don't completely fill up the tiny little butter containers you see at restaurants has nothing to do with the danger that they'll explode at high altitudes. In case Julie asks...)

Ever since that episode, Waylon Jennings has been "Uncle Waylon" to me.

By the way, have a look at the picture that accompanies the story on the CMT site. Doesn't he look cool?

Waylon Jennings, a real legend. Today's country singers could use a healthly dose of his "no bull" approach to music and the music business.