Mikey Goode is a country singer/songwriter from Central Indiana. Since 2017, he and his family have taken up traveling the country in an RV to have real interactions with real people of all walks of life. He is currently on his “Trailer Parks & Tall Tales Tour” that recently made a stop in the LA area. He hadn’t planned to come to LA, but his daughter’s online friendships she developed during lockdown brought them all the way to Topanga. While here, he not only fell in love with the area, but also its people. Upon leaving, he wrote this poem to LA.
Dear LA…
I didn’t have high expectations
for you.
I came down to meet up
with a cool friend or two,
but you had a whole different plan
for me in mind
I figured I’d see bums
on every street corner
with bikers, hippies, queers & stoners,
and I did and it turns out that they
were all pretty cool and kind.
It’s clear that your rainbow
has many colors,
but all that you showed me
were sisters and brothers,
all doing their best to survive
in this world for a while.
From the Mexican workers
who harvest our fruit
to the rich folks who ride the waves
in Malibu,
neither of them greeted me
with less than a smile.
I relished in songs
on the side of a hill
where @thegreenhornbrothers showed off their skills
with harmonies strong
and music that was so wild!
I sat among bikers & hippies & queers
and stoners who smuggled in
bottles of beer
and I never once had to fear
for the life of my child.
No one was there to start up a fight,
we were just down to share
in a great night
of music and tacos and laughter
and joy and fun.
And later when we said
our last goodbyes,
there was nothing but love
in everyone’s eyes
just like you’d imagine the look in the eyes of God’s son.
So many memories were made
thanks to you,
some of them I still can’t believe
that are true.
Thanks for the warm welcome
for both me and my girls.
You helped me to have
more appreciation
for the beautiful folks
on this side of the nation.
I’m grateful you also taught me
to stop clutching my pearls.
I gotta go now
as we’re all hitched up,
so I’m sayin’ goodbye
as I jump in the truck
I’ve still got some shows left to play cross-country ‘til June.
I came out here to write you a song
but I came in with my heart all wrong,
so thank you, LA,
for helping me change my tune.
You can find Mikey’s most recent album, Redneck Rockstar, on all digital streaming platforms. He is currently writing for his second album, Long Stretch Of Highway that he plans to record later this summer.”
