This is the fifth and final post in a series leading up to John Mellencamp’s Nov. 8 and 11 performances at Clowes Hall and Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University.Last month, paparazzi website INF Daily published images of John Mellencamp walking in New York City with actress pal Meg Ryan.
Mellencamp carried a walking stick on that outing, and the Hoosier rock star also had the stick when he attended the Dalai Lama’s speech at Conseco Fieldhouse in May (where the Robert Scheer image at left was made).
I asked about the accessory during an Oct. 28 conversation with Mellencamp in Bloomington.
He said he doesn’t carry the stick that dates to 1836 — a gift from his wife, Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp — for medical reasons:
“That stick is a dangerous stick — that’s all I’m going to say about it. If you see me with that stick, you know that John isn’t worried about anyone doing much to him.
“Ah, I basically carry it for a joke.
“All gentlemen are supposed to have a walking stick, and who’s a more deserving gentleman than myself?”
During the heyday of the walking stick (more or less 300 years leading up to the age of the automobile, Mellencamp says), men concealed a variety of things inside — swords, knives, guns, maps, newspapers and umbrellas.
“I won’t tell you what’s in my walking stick,” he said. “But there’s something inside."
http://blogs.indystar.com/sounds/2010/11/08/walk-tall-and-carry-a-dangerous-stick/
