Rock and Roll Legend Lurking & Acting Suspiciously Is Actually Good News--Find Out Why
Posted: Thursday, August 20, 2009
by Steve Kovacs
The Kovacs Perspective
It was a wet New Jersey evening. A pouring rainfall enveloped the neighborhood. A man looked out his window and saw a man walking through his yard. He was wearing a dark raincoat with the hood pulled over his head and black sweat pants tucked into tall rain boots. Granted, his house had a For Sale sign placed in the yard, but it was quite dark and raining and the man dressed all in black concerned him.
She pulled her cruiser over and started talking with the man. When asked some basic questions the man told her he did not have any identification with him, and he was looking at a home for sale. He said his name was Bob Dylan. Furthermore, he said he was touring the country with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp and decided to take a walk.
The young officer was only mildly familiar with the iconic rocker Bob Dylan, and had seen photographs of him. She thought the man across from her did not look like any pictures she had seen. She asked him where he was staying. He told her the tour buses they travel in were parked at some hotel near a beach.
She knew of a hotel near a beach so she placed the wet, elderly looking man in the back seat, and started driving towards the area. In route, the man asked her if after she found out everything was all right, would she bring him back to the area. Now, she really thought he was suspicious!
As the cruiser pulled into the lot, she noticed several tour buses and she thought, 'Whoa.'" You see, she was thinking the man might very well have been a walk away from a mental hospital in the vicinity. As she pulled up, her sergeant arrived on the scene. He was a bit older and looked at the man in the backseat and said "he's not Bob Dillon."
They both walked up to the buses and knocked until someone answered. The man who answered confirmed that Bob Dylan was indeed on tour with them. After the man identified Dylan and showed them his passport, they were convinced they had a legend in the car.
The cops left the scene, probably feeling a little surprised to say the least. As for Dylan, this kind of unique behavior is a part of what makes him a genius in the music world. He has impeccable timing as a singer; he knows exactly when to sing a verse or say a word that makes him stand out from the crowd. He has written outstanding songs with compelling and deep lyrics for decades. If he were not different from let us say, you and me, he would not have that special spark. Read a few of his unique quotes:
Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot. -This one sounds appropriate for his nightly walk!
I have dined with kings, I've been offered wings. And I've never been too impressed. Hey, I like this guy!
I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be. Deep!
Being a former musician, I respect intricacies in music. Dylan has tons of them. He was never a big favorite of mine but as I got older, I came to appreciate his genius. Moreover, on that rainy night this genius was doing what makes him what he is; which is a deep thinking, different from the usual, unique human being. We are lucky to have people that follow a different beat such as Dylan. Quite often, they enrich and help us become more reflective human beings.
This Article has been viewed 1,815 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Hi Steve,
Thank you for introducing me to Bob Dylan. This is the first I've ever read about him anywhere but it's awakened a curiosity to know more. Your article is definitely responsible for that but this quote from him put me over the top, so to speak:
"I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be."
This is what I try to do and fail but it's how I think. I do pretty good except when it comes to beauty. So as you've said about him, "deep."
I'm going to see if I can sleep now. Ta ta!Hi Avis, He's definitely a unique guy and it's worth looking at his work. He had a period in his life where he wrote and sang religious type songs the biggest hit which was called You have to serve somebody--or something like that--he also wrote a hit years ago about an infamous boxer called Rubin Hurricane Carter--that was a huge hit also. His quotes are interesting as well and there are many more that can be found on the Net. Thanks for reading and writing and I hope you were able to get some good sleep!!!!
This is a great article about a man who is truly a legend. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to see Bob Dylan in concert with Tom Petty. Petty was pretty good, but Bob Dylan (who played after Petty) was fantastic. It was a memory that, as with many, will stay with me always.Hi Mike,I wish I would have seen him live, maybe one day. Who knows maybe I'll spot him walking around in my yard! Seriously, he is a unique talent and I find great songs he did years ago that I've never heard of until lately. I have been downloading them for about 6 months--he's something else! Thanks for taking the time to read and write.Steve
You know me Steve. I'm a professional singer and probably crazier than Bob Dylan. A similar incident happened to me in Boca. My cousin Jeffrey was without a car and being the nice-a-holic that I am I let him use mine and walked to work at Macaroni Grill. On my way home I was stopped by a police officer. In one hand I was carrying my dress shirt, tie, and pizza. In the other an umbrella, beer, and a piece of cake. He thought I was a homeless person. I forgot my wallet but showed him my cell phone. I pointed out how many homeless people does he know who have cell phones. After singing a song to prove I was in fact a singer he let me go. I know in today's world that any person can be psycho but should a man be stopped just for suspicion of being such. It's a paradox.Mike I think the real reason the cop stopped you was that he heard you sing, liked it, and wanted a personal close up show! Thanks for reading.Stevethank-you Steve
I really enjoyed the article and have always enjoyed Bob Dylan. I had not heard of this incident, so I appreciate your sharing. For Mchael from Boca Raton - he wasn't stopped for no reason - remember a citizen called him in. I would expect nothing less than this from the police as it would be the right thing to do.Hi Dave,Yes, someone called a concern in to the PD--the police did a nice job. What else was nice to hear was that Dylan, understood why he was stopped and treated the police with respect and understanding. Thanks for writing.Steve
Wonderful article, Steve. It does give me hope! Now I feel better about insisting that the TV volume be left on an even number!I never knew any of this about Bob Dylan, was never much of a fan, but, this was a most enjoyable read.Thank you for sharing.Maybe you ought to try and write a song or two (with that TV volume thing you have there)--you many be a genius rock star in waiting. Thanks for writing.Steve
hi steve,i enjoyed this article, and it was very well written. i never could bring myself to listen to bob dylan because i never understood a word (maybe one or two i did) when he sang. however, i do think he is a talented man, who has braved the storms all these years.thank you for sharing this,my best regards,sueYou should hear him talk, like in an interview--you can hardly understand him at all. I can understand his words in his songs though. Thanks for reading and your kind words.SteveHow do you do that?Who knows, I'm probably goofy!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.