Andrew (Andy) Pagana

Posted by AndyFan: The title of this post just came to me one morning, early, very early, after Andy called to complain. Not about me, he does that here. Well, he does that to me directly too, especially if I don’t answer my cell phone. He has this weird rule about my having a cell phone, if he calls I should always answer. “Why do you have a cell phone, you never answer it?” is a phrase uttered several times a day. Obviously it is so I can be berated, duh. Regardless, I got off the phone and started to sing this verse, these are the only words that I know.

If you have ever had the fortune (of living) to tell about driving with Andy, you may have at one point or another heard him sing these very words. Let’s just call him a loose driver, sometimes too loose. This song keeps him in line. I never really knew what the reference was but I have often thought about Andy and uttered these words to myself, in complete solitude mind you (this may be bordering on obsession, but I will leave that to the professional help). It turns out it is the official song of Idaho, I mean Kentucky. According to Wikipedia, “‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ is a waltz written in 1946 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline,^[1] Ronnie Hawkins, Rory Gallagher, LeAnn Rimes, Paul McCartney, Boxcar Willie, Ray Charles, Jerry Reed and others.” They left off Andy Pagana on the list, but I have to assume it is because he may only know the one line, I have never heard him sing more that that. But by this point we are swerving around another “bad” driver that Andy is yelling at to get off the road. Andy does that quite a bit. I still get the pleasure thanks to his bluetooth.

It is funny that one phrase can remind you so much of a person. Especially when you have no idea what the phrase is, have never heard another human being sing it (or animal if you are asking) and only associate it to a certain moment. I will find myself singing it as I work on this blog and think about the Andy from July 16th, 1993, or the Andy from late 2006. He hasn’t posted any photos of that Andy yet, but let me tell you, they are something. All pictures of Andy are something.