Bob Batchelor - Literary Cash: Unauthorized Writings Inspired by the Legendary Johnny Cash

OTHER TITLES IN THE SMART POP SERIES

Taking the Red Pill

Seven Seasons of Buffy

Five Seasons of Angel

What Would Sipowicz Do?

Stepping through the Stargate

The Anthology at the End of the Universe

Finding Serenity

The War of the Worlds

Alias Assumed

Navigating the Golden Compass

Farscape Forever!

Flirting with Pride and Prejudice

Revisiting Narnia

Totally Charmed

King Kong Is Back!

Mapping the World of Harry Potter

The Psychology of The Simpsons

The Unauthorized X-Men

The Man from Krypton

Welcome to Wisteria Lane

Star Wars on Trial

The Battle for Azeroth

Boarding the Enterprise

Getting Lost

James Bond in the 21st Century

So Say We All

Investigating CSI

BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.

Dallas, Texas

THIS PUBLICATION HAS NOT BEEN PREPARED, APPROVED, OR LICENSED BY ANY ENTITY THAT CREATED OR PRODUCED ANY SONG OR BOOK WRITTEN BY JOHNNY CASH. THIS PUBLICATION HAS ALSO NOT BEEN PREPARED, APPROVED, OR LICENSED BY ANY PART OF THE JOHNNY CASH ESTATE. THE FICTION SECTION OF THIS BOOK IS SOLELY A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES, AND INCIDENTS ARE THE PRODUCT OF THE AUTHORS IMAGINATIONS AND ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL EVENTS, LOCALES, OR PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, IS COINCIDENTAL.

ANY LYRICAL USE IN THE CUSIC ESSAY HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY ROBERT SULLIVAN, A TRUSTEE OF THE CASH ESTATE.

Fred Copyright 2006 by Lauren Baratz-Logsted & Greg Logsted

Tumbling Copyright 2006 by Gayle Brandeis

Things Might Happen Copyright 2006 by Gretchen Moran Laskas

One More Wrong Thing Copyright 2006 by Russell Rowland

Reno Copyright 2006 by Tiffany Lee Brown

JC Was the First Goth Kid Copyright 2006 by Steven A. Hoffman

The Walls, Texas1987 (Excerpted from The Greenest Grass) Copyright 2006 by Amanda Nowlin OBanion

The Snow Chaser Copyright 2006 by Peter Cashwell

Terminal Copyright 2006 by Kyle Duane Hebert

Beat Back the Drowning Tides Copyright 2006 by Emily Reardon

The Girl from Boulder Ridge Copyright 2006 by Vernell Hackett

The Train Stops Copyright 2006 by Adam-Troy Castro

Does It Ever End? Copyright 2006 by Bob Batchelor

Walkin Contradiction: Johnny Cash and American Ambivalence Copyright 2006 by Leigh H. Edwards

Johnny Cash and C. S. Lewis Copyright 2006 by Don Cusic

Nothin Short of Dyin Half as Lonesome as the Sound Copyright 2006 by Laurel Snyder

Ring of Fire: Love and Longing Copyright 2006 by Alison Stine

Saul (and Cash) on the Road to Damascus: The Man in White Copyright 2006 by Edward J. Rielly

The Man in Black on DVD: A Selected Filmographic Essay Copyright 2006 by Robert G. Weiner

Johnny Cash and the Criminal Mind: The Man in Blacks Expansion of the Public Crime Narrative Copyright 2006 by Todd M. Callais

Additional Materials Copyright Bob Batchelor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

BenBella Books, Inc. 6440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 617 Dallas, TX 75206 www.benbellabooks.com Send feedback to

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Literary Cash : unauthorized writings inspired by the legendary Johnny Cash / edited by Bob Batchelor.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-9352-5160-6

1. Cash, Johnny. 2. Cash, JohnnyFiction. I. Batchelor, Bob.

ML420.C265L57 2006

782.421642092dc22

2006032612

Proofreading by Erica Lovett & Jennifer Thomason

Cover design by Laura Watkins

Text design and composition by John Reinhardt Book Design

Printed by Bang Printing

Distributed by Independent Publishers Group

To order call (800) 888-4741www.ipgbook.com

For media inquiries and special sales contact Yara Abuata at

AN EDITOR OF AN ANTHOLOGY like Literary Cash accumulates many debts. I am wholly indebted to BenBella Books publisher Glenn Yeffeth and our editor Jennifer Thomason. From my first phone conversation with Glenn, he supported the project and realized its merits. Jennifer has been a guiding light in the process of developing the manuscript and turning it into a fantastic book. In a really short time, Glenn and his staff have built a phenomenal publishing companyone that writers yearn to work with.

I am equally indebted to the twenty writers who helped turn the idea for the book into reality. Each contributor has my eternal thanks. Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Greg Logsted, Gretchen Moran Laskas, Deborah Grabien, Gayle Brandeis, and Russell Rowland deserve special kudos for their roles in making the initial proposal sparkle.

My family has not only supported me as a writer, but also inspired me to greater heights. My parents, Jon and Linda Bowen, are constant sources of encouragement. My little brother Bill has been a true friend. My mother-in-law, Nancy Roda, is a thoughtful supporter, as was my father-in-law, Gerald R. Roda, who unfortunately died before this book was published. I think he would have been proud to read it, as I would have been to hand him a copy. Thanks also to David, Ann, and John Roda.

Im lucky to have a lifelong friend like Chris Burtch who shares a love of music, sports, and history. Thomas Heinrich has been a great pal and sounding board. Anne Beirne and Chuck Waldron have provided wonderful friendship over the years, as have Rodd Aubrey, Peter Magnani, Lawrence S. Kaplan, and Richard Immerman. Id also like to thank my colleagues in the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida.

My greatest debt in the world goes to my two best girls: my wife, Kathy, and daughter, Kassandra Dylan. To call my wife an angel is to sell her impact on my life short, and Kassie (my little baby) is constant joy. My love for them is boundless.

O N JULY 4, 2006, WHILE THE nation celebrated its birthday with barbeques, county fairs, and fireworks, thousands of fans found time to slip away from the revelry long enough to buy Johnny Cashs American V record, fittingly released that day. Although put out nearly three years after his death, the buzz surrounding the album placed it among his finest work. Since Cash recorded most of the material on American V after his beloved June Carter Cashs death and before his own death shortly thereafter, the work carried both a legacy and a mystique.

After the success of Cashs earlier American Recordings albums produced by Rick Rubin, the critical acclaim surprised few people. More shocking, however, in an era dominated by bubblegum pop, cookie-cutter country, and hip hop, American V debuted at number one on the Billboard albums chart.