Uncle Potter died.

We all drove to Santa Rosa Beach for his funeral.

At the end of the semester, Balder decided not to continue in his engineering classes at Georgia Tech.

He'd been playing music around Atlanta with Back Azimuth, and a Pink Floyd cover band, and he thought to himself, about the cover band, If these guys can do it, I can.

He wanted to give being a musician a try.

How hard could it be? He was single, no debts. He was a musician.

He moved in with Suzette, in Santa Rosa Beach, and helped her fix up her house.

He started playing music locally with Potter's old bandmates, and picker friends.

Potter used to sing a song about a man who lived the life or Riley "while Riley was away."

Balder moved into Potter's house, played Potter's songs, with Potter's bandmates, to Potter Brown fans along Highway 30A.

Well, all around the Panhandle.

Actually, it wasn't Potter's house, it was Suzette's house.

But that was Potter's life. Living in somebody else's house. The Life of Potter.

Potter never had a house, an insurance policy, a phone in his own name, a cell phone.

He had a Chevrolet Caprice Classic and a Martin guitar. A pair of Southport sea boots to deck-hand in. A barbecue grill. A guest bicycle in the yard. A guest kayak.

Soon, Net Ban'd was playing several regular local gigs.

He played at Fermentations, a wine bar in Seaside, a couple of nights a week. Fermentations had a poster in the restroom for The Truman Show signed by Peter Weir.

I can see him and Mike Kish, Duke Bardwell and Washboard Jackson, playing "Blackberry Blossom," and calling it "Big Hairy Possum."

I think of Rory Cochrane having the job picking up roadkills in Dogtown.

Possums weren't allowed in Seaside.