LETTER: Remembering dirt roads and blue suede shoes

The article got me thinking about the 1940s and 50s when I lived with my family alongside a gravel road in Mississippi. That's where I became aware that a gravel road is not a good surface for roller skating, but I did learn to ride a bicycle and drive a car on that rutted ribbon of dust.

Having lived there for two decades, I have many stories from which to choose, but I will narrow it down to just one: The year was 1955 when Carl Perkins wrote and recorded a hit song entitled Blue Suede Shoes. The lyrics of that song resulted in many of us teenage boys purchasing more than one pair. It didn't take me long, thought, to discover that suede shoes are meant to be worn on city streets and sidewalks; they are not meant for moseying around on gravel roads.

During those years, unlike today's celebrities who collect large sums of money for endorsing tennis shoes, Carl didn't get a piece of the action when pairs of blue suede shoes started flying off the shelf.

Sincerely,

Claude Diamond