Dear True Blue Friends,

Well, well, well,......the days have become a blur. What day is today??? Blue Friday. Yesterday we passed through the land of Colt 45 and Heaven Hill Whiskey and we have it on good authority that this is what the real blues people drink so for authenticity we have started to drink it too. We got off Hwy 61 and on to Hwy 8 in search of where it all started. Thoughts of the Pea Vine rolling up and down the tracks linking the little towns together, providing transportation for the people in the area including the blues ancestors, come to mind. Lots of early blues history here and yet you wouldn't believe how hard these places are to find and since we don't have a map we have to ask around. Most of the time, people don't know who we are looking for and/or never heard of the person.

We, did, locate the Dockery Farms where Charley Patton, Henry Sloan and many other early bluesmen lived, worked and played blues. Prior to arriving at the Dockery Farms, we visited a woman in Cleveland who informed us that if we ever travel through there again and we give her advance warning, she could arrange for us to visit the Farm and have a picnic. If we have enough people, we could even arrange to be entertained by some local blues musicians. Hmmmm.....something to think about in the future.

We continued our blues trek on Highway 49 and passed through the towns of Ruleville, Drew, Fitzhugh, Parchman, Minot, Rome and Tutwiler. This has to be my favorite section of the trip so far. The towns appear to look as if they are frozen in time several decades gone by. We stopped in Drew to visit the Music Mart, a teensy-tiny record shop across the road from the old train platform where Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Charlie Patton, etc. would gather and play music. Marvin, the owner is a goldmine in terms of blues lore and history. Voodoo Girls love to shop and so we did. We each bought a copy of Willie Foster's, "I Found Joy" CD. It's great!! Y'all need to check it out. Willie is a Mississippi Delta Blues original with quite a history. We regret we missed his performance in Greenville due to illness.

Onward, onward passing the Mississippi State Penetentiary -- Just looking at the 'big house' gives me the blues!! .

By the time our blues mobile entered Tutwiler, our spirits were soaring and our voices were accompanying Muddy Waters. . We couldn't believe Tutwiler had signs leading to historical blues sites. This was a first!! We feel the blues ancestor's were rewarding us for all our hard work and making things a little bit easier for us. Up to now, most of the places we've located have been extremely hard to find. We did our research but we didn't have the Delta Blues Map Kit.

In Tutwiler we visited the spot where Handy first heard blues performed by the unknown musician and the rumor down here is that it was most likey Charlie Patton. The dates are conflicting because I read somewhere that Charlie Patton didn't pick up a guitar until 1907 (but who knows the actual date). W.C. Handy wrote in his autobiography it was 1903 when he first heard the unknown blues musician. The plaque in Tutwiler reads "1895". Give or take a few years.....I want to believe it was Charlie sitting next to W.C. Handy playing the music which created the musical excitement and enlightened Handy to publish the first blues score and share it with the world.

A gift was waiting for us when we arrived in
Tutwiler . . . . . .. . A map with directions
to Sonny Boy Williamson's grave.

We followed the instructions and found ourselves out in the middle of open land surrounded by cotton fields and tucked away was a small (very small) cemetery consisting of four tombstones in an overgrown grassy area next to an abandoned church, which was shrouded in a veil of kadzu. The location was peaceful and once again there was that combined feeling of peace and loneliness.

We absolutely could not let Sonny Boy miss out on the party so we poured up a drink for him and ourselves, shared a cigar and bid our farewell.

We liked Tutwiler a whole bunch and when more time permits we would like to return and explore. "The Purple Palace" caught our attention and we took note of it so when we come back we can check it out.

We have been asked several times now, "What y'all doin' down here??" The Voodoo Girls are always so proud to say, "We're on a historical blues pilgrimage to the genesis of the blues!"

Love and Blues,

Mississippi Margie