THE JUDDS

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES

Earlier today, I flopped onto my bed with a little too much enthusiasm, and one of the legs snapped clean off. It was not a slow lean or a warning creak. It was immediate.

My Papaw jumped into action. He did not reach for a wrench or a chunk of wood. He grabbed the nearest solid object in sight: a hardback biography of The Judds.

And it worked.

Right now, that book is holding up the entire back corner of my bed. Naomi and Wynonna are not only country music legends from Ashland, Kentucky, but they are also the reason my sleep schedule remains intact.

There is something oddly beautiful about it. Two women who carried the hopes of Appalachia onstage are now carrying the weight of my full-grown self, night after night.

I will fix the bed properly. But tonight, I will rest easy, propped up by grit, good music, and a well-placed biography.

Let the Judds hold it up.

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