FINALLY! The pictures have come rolling in!

Chris Way flew all the way up from St. Augustine Florida, arrived a day early, & rented a car so we could all go sightseeing in Boone County. We picked Mamie up to be our tour guide. Jesco was already in Charleston staying at Norma's.

Mamie called Jesco a few hours before the show to make sure he was all set. He didn't want to come. I got on the phone with him to reassure that everyone there was just out to have some fun & nothing was going to happen to him. Mamie said that on the way to Norma's the day before, they had stopped at a light when a guy in the car next to them showed them a pistol. According to Mamie, they pulled up to the light & looked over at the next car. The guy happened to look back right at the same moment, caught them looking back, & thought they were trying to start something.  Jesco was afraid the guy was going to come to the Ramada Inn that night looking for him.

 

Jesco finally agreed to come & Chris drove over to Norma's place to pick him up. Once he arrived at the hotel, he began to realize that everyone there adored him & wouldn't let anything happen. Mamie says Norma was to blame for making him paranoid. She doesn't like him making appearances. She's afraid there might be cute girls there.

Ron Smith & his buddy Ben drove all the way from Richmond to give Jess an Elvis bust & to donate some prints of portraits he'd done of Jesco & Mamie for them to sign & sell.

We ended up with about 40 people in all & it turned out to be a wonderful, personal event for everyone! We had folks come from Wheeling, WV, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, & South Carolina just to name a few!

Hold your cursor over the pic to see its caption. Click on it to see a bigger version.

For more photos, check this photo album at: http://community.webshots.com/user/zcdj12

I learned a lot about Jesco through organizing this event. For one thing, he's only poor because he's happy with the bare necessities and because his mental condition makes it difficult to have a structured "career". He's on disability & rightfully so. He only makes appearances when he's broke or needs something in particular & is stable enough at the time to pull it off. He could make enough to literally pull his immediate family out of poverty but just isn't capable mentally of dealing with it. Norma threatens to divorce him if he goes to any more gigs even though he brings her home a chunk of the money. He also feels that any time he is mentioned in a song he should be paid. He doesn't try to collect anything, he just feels the bands should send it to him & he's pissed at the world because they don't.

Mamie is the unsung hero here. If it weren't for her, Jesco would never be seen in public. Ever. He won't answer his phone unless he sees her number on the caller ID. She takes calls from fans & potential bookers & acts as liaison. She has 4 grandkids living with her (their mothers are all in jail) & a daughter that's under house arrest. Mamie's common law husband, Billy Hastings, (who had nothing to do with D. Ray's death) lives there too & is on disability due to a car wreck. She picks Jesco up & takes him to cash his disability check, buy his groceries, & to & from Norma's every other weekend or so. He doesn't give her a penny. When they recently went to Georgia to make appearances, Jesco & Mamie shared a hotel room. Jesco slept with his clothes on so he could guard the money in his pockets. He doesn't even trust his own sister! Mamie is doing all the "managerial" duties for free & then has to put up with Jesco's bi-polar abuse fits. He's told her (before this appearance) that after the Charleston show if she mentions show business to him one more time he'll "blow her effin' brains out through the phone".

In the future, if anyone wants to book Jesco, a manager's fee must be included for Mamie.

Thanks to everyone that came to Charleston & helped make it happen!

Don't let your past come up into your future & mess with your good life!

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