Breakfast in Hell

 A number of years ago I had booked a concert night at The Black Sheep Inn, in Wakefield, Quebec to hear Slaid Cleaves from Austin Texas. He did a no show since apparently he was packin’ when he tried to enter The Promised Land.  I had lost track of his music until I searched him on Apple Music and came up with this song Breakfast in Hell. He must have worked in Ontario (Where the weather is rough and it makes ya tough and no man is afraid to die)  as a logger to write such an amazing tale of these hard working heroic men and one legendary Sandy Gray. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqVU5tfr_c

Funny thing is this song reminded me of lunch hours on the roof of Pinecroft Pottery where my Uncle Jimmie and me would have our lunch in the pine needles and I would listen to tales of the potteries at Medalta and the trenches of WW2 and his boys. 

Is this hell? Maybe we can have breakfast.

No, it's the potteries!!! Take a whiff!

He was a Lance Sergeant and his tales of 5 years of hell in the trenches didn’t include the horrors of war only the love and respect of his boys. He was a Lance Sergeant and promised them the first round if they made it to the next checkpoint. He was so amazed at how fearful they were for a case of beer. Listening to Slaid Cleaves song “Breakfast in Hell” reminded me that the boys weren’t going to hell for a free beer. They were going to back my Uncle Jimmie. He never ever took a step backwards, always only forward. No matter how big the man, how big the problem, step up to it.  His men knew that of him and went to the wall. It's called leadership by example.

“And Sandy Gray lives on today’

And he let out a mighty yell

“I’ll be damned, we’ll break this jam

Or it’s breakfast in hell, boys

Breakfast in hell!-Slaid Cleaves

Uncle Jimmie you have always inspired me. We’ll have breakfast one day.  Love your nephew- T