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The Kennedy Center Honors: George Jones
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Jones isn't big on personal reflection, saying: "I try not to look back too much." But every now and again, he finds himself consumed by regret.
"You think about the things you done, the way you treated people," he says. "I'm troubled with those thoughts quite often. You just wished you hadn't hurt people like you'll do when you're messed up. It was pretty bad.
"I'll tell you what bothers me more than anything: All the dates I missed, when I got the title 'No-Show Jones.' In my mind, I can envision these people, the old grandma and her daughter, they saved their money for probably a couple of months, gave up things, walked down the country roads or whatever to go to the show, and I'm not there. I can just see these people in my mind. I let 'em down. So many of them. That bothers me worst of all."
But you can laugh about some of it, right?
About the more ridiculous stories from that period, like the one about you flushing a bunch of money down the toilet?
"See, a lot of stuff got started that ain't true, but people believed it, being the way I was. I been crazy, but I ain't been crazy enough to flush $3,000 down the commode!"
He laughs.
"Now, the lawn mower -- I really did do that! Oh, Lord. I came home one time after the tour was over, and they'd hid all my vehicles. I was suffering like hell. I was looking for a bootlegger, anything. I needed a drink. There was this little 10-horsepower Cub Cadet sitting right outside my bedroom. I said, 'They had to take the keys to that lawn mower. Ain't no way.' But about noon, I was really suffering, so I went out and, sure enough, the damn key was in there and started right up. Wooooooooh! That little thing wouldn't do much; it took me a long time to get to where I needed to go, maybe two hours. But I was that crazy."
He's howling now, the Possum, so nicknamed decades ago by a disc jockey who thought the singer's upturned nose and close-set eyes resembled the animal's.
"Thank God I'm still alive and can laugh about it," he says. "But boy, that was just pitiful."
* * *
Jones calls his life "an open book." Doesn't mean it's always the greatest read, though.
