Steve Goodman: "Red, Red Robin"
In honor of the first day of spring, here's Steve Goodman performing "When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along."
Goodman features in one of my favorite political anecdotes: during the 1972 presidential campaign, he was stumping for Muskie during the Democratic primaries. It was an old-fashioned whistlestop campiagn, with Muskie and entourage travelling aboard a private train. Muskie gave speeches off the back; Goodman warmed up the crowd with music and good humor. One day, however, Goodman's digestive system was in a bad way, so when Muskie got started with the stump speech, Goodman made a beeline for the toilet.
The train, like most trains of the time, dumped its refuse in transit, and so had a sign asking passengers to not flush while the train was in the station. But Goodman was uncomfortable leaving a full bowl, and he figured the mess would just drop onto the tracks under the train, so he flushed.
Unfortunately, the mess didn't just drop out. The train's waste system was cunningly contrived to spray waste materials behind the train in a fine mist.
As Goodman returned to his seat, the door opened. In tore Muskie's campaign manager, fresh from the sight of a befouled audience. The campaign manager howled, "People are being covered with shit out there!"
"Hey, man," said Goodman, thinking the guy was being figurative, "he's your candidate!"
Click to viewGoodman features in one of my favorite political anecdotes: during the 1972 presidential campaign, he was stumping for Muskie during the Democratic primaries. It was an old-fashioned whistlestop campiagn, with Muskie and entourage travelling aboard a private train. Muskie gave speeches off the back; Goodman warmed up the crowd with music and good humor. One day, however, Goodman's digestive system was in a bad way, so when Muskie got started with the stump speech, Goodman made a beeline for the toilet.
The train, like most trains of the time, dumped its refuse in transit, and so had a sign asking passengers to not flush while the train was in the station. But Goodman was uncomfortable leaving a full bowl, and he figured the mess would just drop onto the tracks under the train, so he flushed.
Unfortunately, the mess didn't just drop out. The train's waste system was cunningly contrived to spray waste materials behind the train in a fine mist.
As Goodman returned to his seat, the door opened. In tore Muskie's campaign manager, fresh from the sight of a befouled audience. The campaign manager howled, "People are being covered with shit out there!"
"Hey, man," said Goodman, thinking the guy was being figurative, "he's your candidate!"