State of Place

The other day I happened on a concert in the back of a jeans boutique. Right there in the waiting-for-the-bathroom hallway. A solo guitarist with princely hair, tight white jeans, cowboy boots and a scorpion belt buckle.

He introduced his song with, “This one’s called Wildwood. I wrote it after I had an experience there.”

What do you think of when you hear Wildwood New Jersey? I’ve never been there, and have only heard of it in passing. Never heard a wild or woody story, though the name tempts me to believe either could be acquired.

In a world of travel tale saturation (guilty as charged), it was refreshing that he didn’t ramble through a song-introducing story. By just saying “I had an experience,” he told us all we needed to know. He let us fill in the blanks and imagine the wildness. He forced us to work for it.

Hm…this is a place that’s inspired at least one songwriter. Might be a place to check out.

I missed the chance to check it out this summer, but these clips from the 1994 documentary Wildwood N.J. take you there pretty fast.

(by Carol Weaks/Cassidy and Ruth Leitman, Ruthless Films)

Do you hold back your stories? If so, how much?

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