A Glimpse Into Goodness and Strength

Watch this video of Bethany singing “Ho Hey”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/VA7AhUKvr94[/youtube]

A Cathartic Whim by Poor William, a Proud Papa, Upon First Hearing His Daughter Croon

By POOR WILLIAM

I got my first, modern-day glimpse into the heart of No. 2 daughter, Bethany Christiana Howell, when she posted on Facebook a cover of her singing a song by The Lumineers.

Weth, as she is fondly referred to by her old man, recently moved to Clarksdale to kick it and live with Poor William and Magical Madge for a season up to a lifetime. It’s her call.

She is free to come, to go, and to find her place in this world. Her old man just wants to be a soft landing and a place where she has the freedom to f*** up. She doesn’t f*** up, mind you, but she has the freedom to do that in my house. You heard it here first ladies and gentlemens!

If we don’t have the freedom to f*** up, then we don’t really have freedom.

Now, she can’t be eating all my “greens and grapefruits,” a Poor William brainstorm of a diet, but long as my greens are safe, she is safe to make mistakes and to learn via self-discovery—the finest life instructor known to mankind. That includes the ladies too!

My four children have had many difficulties as a result of a nasty divorce over eight years ago, just as most children of divorced families experience. Divorce is the bane of American existence, and I am divorced.

The eminent playwright, David Mamet, in a rare interview about a decade ago answered a reporter’s question as to how his parent’s divorce affected him at the age of 11 (He was 55-years-old at the time): “I’ll let you know when I get over it!”

Poor William and Number 2 daughter Bethany at Hopson Commissary in Clarksdale.

I have never written about my divorce, as I was too wounded from it, and I was afraid of speaking about it, as I knew it would further make it difficult to see my children. God recently delivered me from that fear, which has ruled my life for years! And, he did it by bringing Bethany back into my life in a very unexpected way.

Though divorce rips just about everything it touches asunder, it does not have to be the culmination of a difficult life! There is life after divorce and it never ceases to amaze me how resilient and strong children of divorce become and are. Mine are no exception! In spite of their Dad’s multiple limitations and their having moved all over the West—often—they seem to keep blooming! God’s Grace and their tenacity!

“Nuff said about all that! I am a proud Pop of four precious, incredible children, and I thank God for keeping us all in his arms in spite of all my wiggling!

Bethany recorded “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers in Poor William’s something that kinda looks like an office, sometime recently. I have never heard her sing, as I have not been around, and because I haven’t wanted to press her to do anything she is not ready to do! I hurt her and her oldest sister years ago by not sheltering them in the middle of an ugly divorce, and by unwittingly placing them square in the middle. So, I am loath to push anything!

By God’s grace only, am I able to still try to forgive myself, as He has already done; and by God’s Grace and my children’s incredible goodness have they been able to forgive me.

Why is this relevant to the Delta Bohemian? Because it’s beautiful, it’s in the Mississippi Delta and Bethany’s ability to convey the awesome lyrics in a fresh, stylized, and genuine way, reflects the love for narrative in a Delta singer/songwriter.

Bethany is like her old man, in that the proverbial box is a bit too confining for a Howell/Tomlinson, but she’s unlike her old man in that she’s actually gifted!

Thanks for sharing Honey! You bless your Pops!

Delta Bohemians everywhere, are you READY FOR THIS?

Bethany’s Frog. Billy’s Frog.