Smiley Has Died [Earl Parrish]

[Will Dockery]

I stopped by Isis House yesterday, and Norma informed
me that Smiley has died. Smiley spent years at Isis
House, and many a day he could be found on the front
porch, smiling.

A local legend of downtown Shadowville, and always
around for the music and poetry events of the bygone
days, almost everyone knew him.

I've looked for an obituary, under the name "Earl
Parrish" and "Parish", but none seems to have been
written. Anyone out there with funny/interesting
memories, post them here, please, for a piece in the
next Playgrounds I'll try to write.

Cassonya, Norma mentioned that you may write on Smiley
for next issue. If so, perhaps we could put something
together from both our vantage points, as Smiley was
well known to the Magickal groups, as well.

--
"I saw a werewolf drinkin' a pina colada at Trader
Vic's
And his hair was perfect." -Warren Zevon

The Netherlands/Shadowville cross cultural exchange
project <http://www.kannibaal.nl/shadowville.htm>

Autograph Of Zorro" {from *Shadowville Live*}:
<http://www.kannibaal.nl/zorro.mp3>

Art, music, poetry of Will Dockery:
http://www.lulu.com/dockery


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[Will Dockery]

"treblig01" <treblig1@a...> wrote:
>
> I have never posted on this forum before, but Earl's
passing has made
> this first entry necessary. He was a friend of mine,
in a way that
> only Earl could be a friend: saying hello after
church on Sundays,
> calling at odd hours and asking for rides, dropping
by every Monday
> night for trivia at the Cannon. In fact, it was the
last of these
> that I grew to know him best.
>
> Earl would arrive for trivia about a half-hour late.
He'd shuffle in,
> grab a chair, and plop down at an empty spot along
our table. He'd
> light into the goings on of the past week, from
church services to
> times at the Isis House, and then go about
describing whatever
> thought popped into his mind. He'd sing old hymns
and ragtime songs.
> If the words escaped him, Earl would simply tap on
the table and
> continue with the melody, "...da, da, da, da..."
He'd tell stories
> about raising chickens in Fort Gaines, about his
days in Augusta, and
> his contention with local church politics. On
occasion, the siren
> sound of his laughter brought the whole table into
fits of hysterics.
> I struggle to remember a time when his laugh did not
bring about my
> own.
>
> Few knew that Earl planned a move to Augusta in
coming months. His
> mind often drifted there in conversation, speaking
of it as heaven-on-
> earth, and I now wonder if he did not have a
premonition of his end
> drawing near. Sadly, he did not get to make such a
journey in life;
> one can only hope he did so in death.
>
> I remember a picture being sketched of him years ago
by an artist at
> St. Luke UMC. She made several for the local
vagabonds who
> frequently crossed the church's threshold. It was
rumored that each
> person received a copy (or the original) of their
likeness. If so,
> I'm sure Earl has his featured prominently in his
room.
>
> Not knowing the protocol for such a thing, I will
just simply ask: I
> would love to take that sketch, if it does still
exist, and hang it
> in the Cannon Brewpub. He was loved there as much as
anywhere else in
> the world, and I think such an honor would tickle
his soul to no end.
> I'm not sure who to ask, so if those of you who do
can help me out, I
> would be in your debt.
>
> I miss Earl. He was an unfading character of
Columbus. Always there.
> Always Earl. For that, I will always be grateful.
>
> Most Sincerely,
>
> Gilbert Miller

Thanks, Gilbert, for the thoughts on Smiley.

Literally hundreds of memories, all happy, many
hilarious of *our*, and certainly one of the last,
true Southern Gentlemen, come to mind, some of the
best:

Smiley's poem, "Georgia":

"From the shores of the Atlantic,
To the banks of the Chattahoochie...
It's Geeeeeorrrr-gia..."

That he often read at the original poetry open mics.

His excellent reditions of show-tunes, and his
show-stopper version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

"And lots of other things..." -Johnny Cash.

Hopefully Norma has the illustration you mentioned...
she says his room is a vast archive of everything
imaginable... hurry.

I have quite a bit of video footage in *my* archives
of Smiley at various downtown poetry events from
1995-99, which I'll eventually get out, in my endless
years of editing the 100s of hours of footage...

--
"Karma Bombs" [Will Dockery]
http://www.lulu.com/items/32000/32109/preview/Karma_Bombs.mp3

"Mirror Twins" [Will Dockery]
http://www.lulu.com/items/29000/29085/preview/Will_Dockery_-_03_-_Track__3.mp3