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Some folks have an addictive personality.  

That’s not a condemnation, just an observation.  If those afflicted by those addictions can funnel them in the right direction, their talents can grow and their greatest dreams can be realized.  If those addictions are left untamed, well, they can consume people.

Johnny Cash, it could be argued, was one who could cut with both sides of that sword.  It was his addictions that made the songs he sang speak to people and make him relatable.  The Man in Black tapped into other addictions that made his voice one that was distinguished from all others, just like his experiences.  His struggles with drugs, women, and alcohol are well documented.  

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He also had a passion for cars, and sang about them often. Hot Rod Lincoln, One Piece at a Time, and All I Do Is Drive all speak to his affection for the open road.  His garage was also a testament to the American highway.  Cadillacs, Rolls Royces, and Lincolns all made their way to his garage at one time or another.  A few years back Johnny’s 2001 black (of course) Lincoln Town Car Cartier L was auctioned off in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Barrett-Jackson event.

“The Lincoln is powered by a 4.6-liter V8 engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission. It features a gray interior, landaulet roof and a continental-style trunk,” they said at the time.

As happens, Johnny Cash, his addictions, and his Lincoln Town Car all came together at once to create a story that would live on longer than the man himself.

Backstage after a concert in Possumneck, Mississippi he dipped a chip into a big bowl of fresh salsa.  It changed the course of his life.  The salsa was the best he’d ever had.  He asked to buy some of the hot red concoction to take with him, but there were no jars of it to be found.  In fact, no one was exactly sure where the hot red stuff had come from.  Leaving empty handed, Johnny couldn’t get his mind off the salsa.  He said that he wouldn’t rest until he could find a supply of the condiment to satisfy his cravings.

Days later, he crawled into the driver’s seat of the Town Car and set off to locate the magical marinade.  Traveling back roads all over the south, he went into every grocery store and Mexican food restaurant attempting to locate the stuff.  This is where the addictive personality kicked in.  He was determined not to rest until he’d found the source of the salsa.

One day he heard the story of an old woman, a witch down in the Mayan peninsula in Mexico, so the story went.   It was said the old woman made the best salsa in the world!  Cash cancelled his next five gigs and headed south in the Town Car. He traversed deserts, mountains and jungles before finally reaching the fabled village where the old bruja lived.  Eventually he had to enlist the help of half naked guides who rode shotgun and in the back of the Lincoln. They helped him navigate the dirt roads and off-beaten paths until he finally found the village that was home to the old woman.

He parked the battered Lincoln outside the old woman’s hut.  As fate would have it, the old woman was one of his biggest fans.  In fact, she’d traveled all the way to Possumneck to hear him in concert.  It was she who’d supplied the bowl of salsa that made its way backstage.  So enamored of the Man in Black was she that she consented to share the secret recipe for the hot sauce he’d travel so far to find.  But only on one condition.

“I give you secret,” she said.  “But only if you write song for me.”

That was a small price to pay for a man who could craft a song on the spur of the moment that would go on to win awards.  Agreeing to terms, she showed him the special tomatillos grown in Mayan soil that made her salsa so special.  She gave him seeds from the rare Mexican peppers that gave the salsa just the right kick.  She even showed him the special rounded-bottom pan from the Far East she used to cook all the ingredients to perfection.  The ingredients would all simmer in “la lima” or lime juice, the ingredient that gave the salsa such a unique tanginess, the key to the special taste.

“I’ve got a kitchen full of cast iron pans and stainless steel pots back home,” he said.  “Can I just use one of those?”  She was adamant that the salsa wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t made exactly to the specifications she’d given him.  

It was his response to her demands that provided the inspiration for the lyrics of the song he wrote for her, fulfilling his end of the bargain, “Because you’re Mayan, I’ll wok the lime.”

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