Rolling Across Texas with Tumbleweed Smith

I attended a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet over the holidays and enjoyed it thoroughly. The musicians in the symphony orchestra played the familiar music to perfection and the dancers were at their absolute peak. The sets and costumes were spectacular. Hundreds of people were involved in getting the show on stage, something most of the audience knew and appreciated.

Donnie Dunagan grew up dirt poor in Memphis, Tennessee. He and his parents lived in a two room flat above a hardware store. A few blocks from his house a black man named Sam set up a crank victrola every day and danced to the music. People passing by would watch him for a while and drop a few pennies and nickels in front of him. In 1938, when Donnie was four years old, his mother took him to see the dancing man. Although Donnie was barefooted, he started mimicking the dancer. The man, who Donnie says was very courteous, asked Donnie’s mother if her young son could join the dancer.