Never Throw Down

One night, when they had been drinking quite a bit, it came up that I knew Levon's music.

I grew up in Nashville raised around musicians, which I have often said roughly equates to being raised by wolves. My childhood was colorful, to say the least.

When I was 12, I was a big fan of what's now considered classic rock, and I was pretty well versed in the musicians of the era. My uncle had been hanging out with Levon Helm of the Band pretty frequently. Levon had just published his memoir.

One night, when they had been drinking quite a bit, it came up that I knew Levon's music. Inspired by having a 12-year-old fan, Levon sat for an hour or so and worked out a long life-lesson inscription in a copy of his book for me. The last line was "Never throw down, throw up if you have to, but never throw down."