By Ricky Swindle

Muffler Shop Musings

Howdy, friends!

On a hot muggy Mississippi July morning with a Southern breeze blowing the tops of the oak trees at Hebron Cemetery, a small family, a few friends and I said our goodbyes to Dan Turpin.

Dan was one of those friends I inherited from my father as they were only a few years apart in age. Dan was a loyal friend for sure. If he liked you, he liked you.

He was a great lover of fast cars and Country Music. He was a flat natural historian when it came down to Merle Haggard, Buck Owens or anyone from the Bakersfield Sound of Country Music.

Dan was without a doubt the greatest Merle Haggard fan I’ve ever known. He knew that man well. He drove “The Hags” tour bus for quite a few years back in the 80’s.

As for fast cars, Dan was proud of a speeding ticket he was awarded with on Route 66 between LA and Las Vegas years ago in his Northstar Cadillac.

The officer clocked him at 140 mph on that long lonely desert highway. The patrolman, being a friendly person and knowing folks wind out their vehicles on that straight highway, offered to write him up for 99 MPH. But Dan told him to leave it at 140 so he could show his friends the ticket. 

He paid a monster of a fine just to prove to all of us how fast that Cadillac would run.

As I stated, Dan was a great friend of the legendary Merle Haggard and he proved it to me one sunny summer day at The Ford Center in Oxford.

Merle and the great Marty Stuart were playing a concert one Sunday afternoon at the center.

Dan had called ahead and attained 3 tickets to the sold out concert for me, him and the late JW Lutrell. We loaded up in JW’s old Mayberry looking police car and headed to Oxford.

After the concert Dan told me to follow him, so JW and I trailed along.

He took us to the side-door of the venue and the great Merle Haggard himself was coming out heading down the steps to his bus.

Dan said “Go walk him down Rick, he’s waiting to meet you.” I have a picture of Merle and me coming down those steps that I will treasure forever.

This was no line up and “meet and greet” situation that day. We carried on like a family reunion for a couple of hours because we were the only ones there. Merle was as interested in us as we were him. He and Dan carried on like long lost buddies. I could tell they were very close at one time.

This is not a posthumous thank you to Ol’ Dan. I’ve thanked him many times over the years for that day he lined me up to spend with a Country Music hero of mine.

Dan Turpin from Sardis knew Merle Haggard well and “The Hag” knew him well, too.

Take care of yourself folks. I’m gonna sit back and play some Merle and think about Ol’ Dan Turpin for a while. 

Dan was a dandy. Rest in peace, old friend. 

Write to Ricky Swindle at rickyswindle@bellsouth.net