Michael Perry's Voice Mail

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 235. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

Let’s say there’s a person whose work altered the course of your life in the best possible way. Let’s say that person is a songwriter, and one day you are given the opportunity to perform one of that man’s songs for him and a couple thousand strangers.

And then let’s say you muff it.

Then what?

I hope you enjoy this episode and the related images below. Thank you for listening.

Mike

And here’s a phone video of the performance described in this week’s episode.

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Mikes’ books, recordings, and related merchandise available at the SneezingCow store.

NEW: LONG SLEEVE Peaceful Persistence and Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow T-shirts are available here.

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 234. This one’s subscribers only free in honor of the “OKAYEST HUNTER” podcast. Click the player above to listen.

In this episode I head down to the pole barn and dig out a goofball essay I wrote in 1992 about how I wasn’t the greatest hunter ever. I had forgotten I’d even written it, so as I read it, I’ll be rediscovering it in real time right along with you.

Mmmm…venison.

Forward,Mike

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Relevant excerpt from the hunting chapter in Truck:

And another:

And finally, a couple of scribbles I made in the margins of Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry by Ted Kooser and Jim Harrison:

Not available in blaze orange, but ready for cooler weather, we have Peaceful Persistence T-shirts in long sleeve now.

Braided Creek (see marginalia above) is available at BookShop.org and Amazon.com. (Law requires me to let you know we catch a little commission if you order through those links. Are we good, law?)

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If you’d like to receive all episodes of Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 230. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

In this episode I answer a reader’s question about the etiquette of waving when you meet someone on a country road, and how that small civilized gesture heartens me on days when I need heartening.

When driving, my preference is the one- or two-finger steering wheel raise, but there are other options, including the seed-corn-cap brim-brush salute, demonstrated below:

Below is my dad, four decades ago, demonstrating his trademark “‘V’ for Victory” wave. His in his 80s now, but if you meet him on the road, you’re getting the same wave. (Scroll down to the MARGINALIA section for more background.)

As ever, thanks for riding along—and waving.

See y’down the road,Mike

Today’s episode is built on “The Wave,” an essay in my book Hunker: Brief Essays on Human Connection, available here.

Mike’s books, recordings, T-shirts, stickers and can koozies in the Sneezing Cow store.

If you’d like to receive all episodes of Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

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MARGINALIA

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 224. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

In this episode a thought about the magic of radio leads me back to revisit a time when I wrote about truckers and trucker radio. And I mention that the band and I are going to play a benefit for a unique local radio station. Join us if yer in the area!

Oh, and a clarification: In today’s episode I mention 1997 and 2007 in a way that might be confusing. The main piece was written in 1997…the 2007 reference pertains to an explanatory addendum in Off Main Street. Either way, time flies like a brakeless truck down Wolf Creek Pass.

Thank you,Mike

Info on the WHYS concert including the Long Beds.

WHYS website.

Dave Nemo talking about trucker songs.

Long Beds trucking song.

Long Haul Paul’s music.

Interview I did with Long Haul Paul (slung some guitar).

The source of this episode’s marginalia is the same book as last week, which I found thanks to a listener/reader recommendation: First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process, available from BookShop.org and Amazon. (Law requires me to let you know we catch a little commission if you order through those links. Are we good, law?)

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I keep dipping into First We Read, Then We Write. It’s one of those you can read that way. A chapter when time allows.

Unlike Emerson above, I’ve never been good at keeping journals. Partly because I’m not that disciplined, and partly because when I did keep journals and went back to read them, they rendered me profoundly maudlin. I do keep reams and reams of jotted oddments, and physical object and pictures that trigger my memories and sprout stories. But there is also a chuckle for me in the above passage, as after 30 years of freelancing, I deeply appreciate the “cash value of an idea.”

My finest mentors were those who told me what didn’t work.

I often wish I was more organized. More disciplined in my approach. But it’s those tangents that yield up the rich stuff…

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 223. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

This one isn’t from any book, but it’s tied to a lot of books. It’s all about a little writing shack I had hidden on forty acres I used to own in the mostly middle-of-nowhere. And it’s got a lotta pictures, so: If the newsletter is truncated click on "View entire message" and you'll be able to view the entire post.

And this week’s marginalia wasn’t scribbled on a book, it was scribbled on a desk.

Thanks for tuning in,Mike

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I used to write and date notes on the desk in that shack. If I took pictures of them, I don’t know where they are, but at some point I copied them down, and so herewith this episode’s “desk-inalia.”

03/09/2005 – Cold (10 degrees) sunny, blue sky, gray tree trunks, snow crust strong enough that I walked atop it all the way out here even with a pack on. Bucked some firewood, split it, enjoyed the way the deep-frozen shack became cozy and warm. The dang mice have got to go. Didn’t mind when they moved into the roof, but now they’ve pooped and peed so much it’s leaking down the walls. The war is on.*

*I shot one with the 12 gauge but that plan has limitations.

03/25/2005 – Amy, Anneliese, smiley face (written by Amy). Warm, sunny, lots of bright snow, we hiked out for lunch, had venison sandwiches and an MRE pack. Amy had her Mickey Mouse backpack and hiked happily. We had hot chocolate, then Anneliese and Amy headed back and I stayed to work on the truck book.

03/26/2005 – Walked all the way out here because I got home last night and couldn’t remember if I shut the door. I had.

08/10/2005 – Rode here on my mountain bike, sweating gobs on the floor. Was afraid to look inside the shack having not been here for over four months, but none of the mouse traps are sprung, everything as it was save for a few dead bugs and a sprinkling of turds on the cot. The truck book is not going well, Anneliese and Amy are off for a visit to Colorado, I am determined to hammer something out.

08/13/2005 – Swept up, did find one mouse in a trap. Pretty much dehydrated. Working on truck book.

09/06/2005 – [in my brother-in-law’s (cunado’s) handwriting] Para Mike: Thanks for bringing me to your secret place. Gracias for having a good, the best cigar with me. I know my kid will have one of the best uncles. Gracias tio Mike. Cunado Marcelino. [NOTE: this visit recounted in the “Tio Miguel” essay in Roughneck Grace.]

04/27/2006 – Leaves just budding out. Maple leaves the size of quarters. First time out this year. Looks like someone took the single shot. Scared up turkeys on the walk in. [“Single shot” refers to the shotgun stolen from the shack. In 2007 we would move, and I would sell the land, the shack along with it.]

Today’s episode is original, not taken from any particular book, but it references or is tied to several books:

Population 485 (the one that brought me to the dance I’m still dancing)

Truck: A Love Story (the one I was struggling with in the shack)

Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg (the backstory of Tim)

Roughneck Grace (the cigar backstory)

Visiting Tom (more on Oscar and why he woulda got on great with Tom)

Sneezing Cow everything else including can koozies, stickers, and T-shirts.

If you’d like to receive all episodes of Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

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Or simply share this episode with someone who might enjoy it:

Thank you!

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 217. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

In this episode I tell the unpublished story of how I came to be a New York Times bestselling author, what that really means, and why your kids are gonna giggle at you anyway.

The band and I are playing in Minneapolis tonight, if you are in range and see this in time.

This week’s marginalia…well, you’ll see (scroll down).

Meanwhile, thank you.

Mike

The book that got me on the charts, Visiting Tom.

The video mentioned in the letter above.

The rest of the books, humor and music albums, T-shirts, and can koozies, cuz I still gotta get one kid raised.

Playing with my band in Minneapolis tonight if it’s still tonight when you read this.

The Alexander Chee book mentioned in the marginalia section (scroll down) is How To Write An Autobiographical Novel: Essays. It’s one of my favorites, and it’s available at BookShop.org and Amazon (Law requires me to let you know we catch a little commission if you order through those links. Are we good, law?)

We send this podcast out once a week, sharing news and stories and behind-the-scenes bits we don’t blast out across the regular “socials.”

If you’d like to receive all episodes, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

You can also give a gift subscription:

Or simply share this episode with someone who might enjoy it:

MARGINALIA

Each week I share notes I’ve scribbled in books I’ve read, or excerpts from journal pages, or rough drafts. I make a couple of comments and folks react. It’s a way to show how writing and reading is part of my life behind the scenes—not just in the “official” places.

Once again, thank you for looking and listening. I don’t take it for granted. See y’next week, Lord willin’ and the crick don’t rise.

Mike

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 211. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

Last week I climbed into a big ol’ tractor and helped my brother with the planting (short video here). I was in a troubled state of mind, and that tractor helped. It also brought back a flood of memories, many of which I revisited in the book Coop, the memoir from which today’s reading selection is taken. Above all, I was a fortunate boy. And last week on that tractor I once again felt like that fortunate boy.

This week’s marginalia (scroll down) is from one of my old writing journals.

Thank you for listening. See y’next week.

Mike

The book Coop, in all its iterations—print, ebook, audio—is available here. Paperbacks ordered directly from the site are signed by Mike.

My most recent book—Forty Acres Deep—deals with the darker side of farming. And mental health. But is also filled with scenes of what it is to farm close to the land. Available here.

Some of this episode’s marginalia is from the Rick Bass book The Traveling Feast, available from Amazon.com here.

All the books and recordings and Sneezing Cow can koozies here.

In the spirit of the theme, a goofy video by a group I wrote about back in my country music journalism days, The Tractors:

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This week’s marginalia is culled from one of my old writing journals:

Okey-doke. See ya.

P.S. As I am obsessive and discovered it late, the fourth line of today’s episode should be, “That doesn’t mean I don’t need to sometimes find a way to shake it all.”

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 207. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

In today’s episode I share the story of heading down to Alabama to tell stories and sign books in roadhouses and meet a friend I’d never met before. It all began thanks to a tornado and a guy who used to live under a bridge. And although we didn’t read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we coulda, and probably even finished it during the three hours we found ourselves adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s not my usual episode, but I hope you’ll enjoy tagging along as I introduce you to a fellow who went from living under a bridge to selling 20 million books

None of this would have happened if Andy hadn’t stopped by Arcadia Books.

All about Andy Andrews. And Andy’s books.

All about Mike’s books (including the Montaigne one).

A special thank you to Austin Andrews who opened for us at the Flora-Bama. Stunning singer/songwriter. Hear three of his songs here.

Bill-E’s, the place with the amazin’ bacon.

Mike’s recent YouTube visit with Andy:

This was a free episode. If you’d like to receive all episodes, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

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MARGINALIA

From Andy’s book The Bottom of the Pool (which I marked up on the flight home).

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 203. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click the player above to listen.

In today’s episode I’m fresh back from a side-trip to Los Angeles which got me somehow to thinking about my short-lived punk rock career and the most important lesson I ever learned about playing guitar. There is also a passing mention of prairie oysters and sousaphones. And a band named Toxic…well, you’ll hear. My mom listens to this podcast, but sometimes you gotta just tell it the way it was.

Scroll down for more photos (including the one referenced in the podcast) and this episode’s marginalia.

Above all, thank you. I’ll keep at it. The writing, that is. The punk rock, that’s over with.

Mike

The previous band-related episode I mention is here.

If the Long Beds are playing near you, it’ll be listed here.

And whether it’s a new book, Mike appearing solo with stories, or the band, you’ll hear about it in advance if you’re on the mailing list.

All the books mentioned in this podcast can be found here.

This was a free episode. If you’d like to receive all episodes, click on the button below (it says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm):

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Give a Voice Mail gift subscription:

TODAY’S MARGINALIA:

Howdy folks:

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 197. This one’s subscribers only. Click the player above to listen.

Today I got to thinking—and then talking—about thank you cards and thank yous and how whether you mail it or you click it you can never say thank you enough. Although taking the time to use pen and paper and a stamp do add a special degree of sincerity to the act.

And for today’s marginalia, rather than the usual notes from the text of the book, I stuck with the “thank you” theme and annotated the acknowledgments page from Montaigne in Barn Boots.

Today’s essay is from the book Million Billion. The paperback, Kindle and other ebook versions, as well as all of Mike’s other hardcovers, paperbacks, and audiobooks are here at the Sneezing Cow store.

All the books (including the ones featured on the postcards below) are here.

Also, posters and koozies.

Voice Mail gift subscriptions:

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Thank you, folks. Yes. Thank you.

Mike