road trip
From Huntsville to Macon. . . Boxmasters, Books & History
By Michael Buffalo Smith My latest big adventure actually started
on Easter Sunday. I drove from my home in East Spartanburg, SC all the way to Taylors, a community in Greenville county, to attend church services at Freedom Fellowship, my favorite church and the regular church of my friend Scott Greene and his family. After serv- ices, I drive to Scott’s house and hung out and had Easter dinner with his family. (Thanks again, guys.) I would crash there so that we could leave out in his vehicle Monday morn- ing toward Huntsville, Alabama. We arrived in Bama early in the after-
noon and checked in to the LaQuinta Inn (thank you Debbie Dixon!), and before long we were headed to Merrimack Hall, one of my favorite venues, to see The Boxmasters. When we got there, everyone was
milling around outside, and Scott and I said our hellos to Billy Bob Thornton, J.D. Andrew and the rest of the band. I turned to find Alan Jenkins smiling and extending a hand to shake. Alan and Debra Jenkins are the founders and directors of Merimack Hall (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mis- sion is to provide visual and performing arts education, and cultural activities, to children and adults with special needs and to provide quality professional entertainment to the community). This was my fifth show at Merri- mack, and I just love the venue and Alan and Debra. The Boxmasters have played many
Alan and Debra Jenkins of Merrimack Hall with Billy Bob Thornton.
(Photo courtesy Alan Jenkins Facebook Page)
shows to benefit the organization, and it’s al- ways a large time. Alan and his band, The Wood Pickers,
an acoustic group consisting of several amaz- ing players and singers, were slated to open for The Boxmasters, and I was looking for- ward to hearing them. Alan asked me right off the bat if I’d come up and jam with them, and if you know me, you know that I never turn down an invitation to play. He lead me to a room under the hall where the guys were re- hearsing and introduced me. They asked me to sing a couple, and what songs I wanted to do. I was drawing a blank, and then I remem- bered jamming with the Boxmasters there several years ago during sound check with
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