The DU Lounge

When I was in high school, I decided to learn guitar, and then found out about Lightnin' Hopkins, an old blues guitarist who had been "rediscovered" by Alan Lomax and some of the folkies of the 1960s. I learned that he would be performing at an after-hours dive in Houston's Third Ward, took my dad's car and went there alone - a white high school girl.

I never occurred to me that I might be in danger, because I was going to see Lightnin'. I walked into this tiny, smoky little neighborhood juke joint. It fell silent when I entered, and someone asked, "Miss, are you lost or in trouble?" I said "No. I came to hear Lightnin' Hopkins".

That's all it took. They pulled me up a chair at a table, and the rowdy fun resumed. It was a great night, and great people. I would have been grounded for life if my dad had ever found out.