When I Come Up Against The Real

I Knew I Was Weird By The Time I Was Four. I Knew I Wasn't Like Other Boys. I Knew I Was More Fearful. I Didn't Like The Rough And Tumble Most Boys Were Into. I Knew I Was A Sissy.

I Guess I Didn't Enjoy Drawing Very Much. It Was Like Homework.

I'm Into Old-time Music, I'm Not Very Interested In Modern, Popular Music At All. And If I'm Really Into Some Particular Old-time Musician, Some Fiddler Or Banjo Player, I'm Always Dying Of Curiosity To See What They Look Like.

I'm Just A Negative Person, A Deeply Negative Person. I See The Worst Aspects Of Everything.

As A Kid Growing Up In The 1950s I Became Acutely Aware Of The Changes Taking Place In American Culture And I Must Say I Didn't Much Like It. I Witnessed The Debasement Of Architecture, And I Could See A Decline In The Quality Of Things Like Comic Books And Toys, Things Made For Kids. Old Things Seemed To Have More Life, More Substance, More Humanity In Them.