Urban Legends

My old uncle Ned(Rest his soul) was a wonderful Urban Legend guy. Oh, he really believed those stories -- as did most of the folks in my little home town. It is a kind of small town passtime -- these stories of strange happenings. The first one I recall was shortly after I-74 was completed just a couple of miles outside of town. It seems that a local guy (no one can recall who) was driving home down the Interstate and he came upon a big black Cadallac with a flat tire. He stopped to lend a hand and was confronted with a very pretty black woman who was sitting in the drivers seat of the car. He got into the trunk and retrieved the spare tire and changed it for the pretty black woman.

The story goes -- in a few days, a big delivery truck pulled up in front of his home and he was soon the proud owner of a new color TV (that was considered the prize gift back then). There was a note with the big TV set. It said "Thanks for changing my tire" and was signed "Mrs. Nat King Cole." I guess they did not know her name was Maria.

This story was the gospel truth in my home town. Everyone believed it.

A few years later, I had moved to the LA area and was watching a
TV interview with Maria Cole. She told the same story. Except -- she said it happened in every state in the Union, outside of hundreds of small town along the interstate. And it was simply not true!! It never happened! She never drove a black car of any sort across the country. And, she had no idea where the story originated.

That was my first experience with Urban Legends. Since then I have heard of scores of stories from the Pepsi can that refused to put "Under God" in the pledge (It was Coke and it was a July 4th ad campaign using only the first line of the pledge.) -- and more recently -- the new dollar coin that left off "In God We Trust." (It is on the edge of the coin if anyone bothers to look).

Many of these legends are of a religious nature. I am not a terribly religous man -- but I have no problem with religous symbols and words that are traditions in our country's history. But it might be nice if these people would get their facts straight before they e mail everyone in the world to boycott this that or the other for no good reason.

Anyway -- back to Uncle Ned. There are hundreds of Uncle Neds in the world living in small towns -- telling stories that have little or no basis -- and swearing they are true because someone or other (they can't remember exactly who) was there and saw it happen. I really loved my Uncle Ned and wouldn't have him be any different.

I suppose it is a part of Americana and we should just let it happen -- shake our heads with wonder and let the teller of the story have his moment of fame with his scoop. At least it makes for good memories of all the old Uncle Neds in the world.