Ginny Achin
There was nothing else anywhere like The Beaux!
NoOne else around like Tommy.
Those were
THE DAYS
Ginny with her hand-painted Banjo in 1978
Ginny frequented Beaux Arts In '65 and '66, then from late '69 through late '73 while living the the area.
Then visited a few times in '74, '75, once in '77.
She returned to the burned remnants of one of the fires in the Spring '87!
She started her performances at Beaux Arts in 1965, playing solo sets of folk, folk blues, and her original songs. She then moved on to more intricate banjo, and played in duets in their sets.
Upon her return visits in the 70's she read her peotry, to a musical accompaniment, and brought paintings and leather crafts and displays to ornament the garden.
Ginny ranks herself as a friend, fan, artist, writer and musician of The Beaux.
Her curernt passions were captured on video and made the local press when she spontaneously "broke out in song" from her wheel-chaired, "MAKE WAR OBSOLETE" sign-holding, 'nose-hose' oxygen supported position in the latter portion of the Grant County Peace Coalition contribution to/entry in the parade (pictured below)
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BeBop Fairytale
Ginny (Arthur) Achin
Hello and Howdy too
to all who I once knew,
who sang and played and danced
and dared to take a chance
in bygone days of Yore
when Mother watched the door,
where stood the Golden Crèche;
each with a cigarette,
up front in single file
like Palace Guard, no smile–
for tourists coming through,
to pay the way for you
Pinellas County Freaks
who gathered there to seek
Communion on the strings of
instruments and things,
and all the arts, upstairs and down,
out back and all around.........
when ALL the freaks in town
could fill the place with Sound,
yet still have room to share
with tourists who could spare
each their greenback dollar
to the hand of Mother
when coming through the door.
The dollar then was more,
which few Freaks had, you know;
but they could Give a SHOW,
.....whether giving it in song,
or in artwork all along
the walls and stairs, well hung,
in cacophonic fun,
or in the gallery
advertised by Tommy
as “Featured Artist’s Show,”
between the movies shown,
Or folks could pay their way
as actors in a play—
through the theater door,
with stage and sloping floor;
while poets’ hearts and heads
o’re microphones were read
between the music sets,
poetic intellects—
When all beatnik folkies
with cigarettes and stogies,
Ethnic, Sandaled, Hairy,
(Squares then thought them scarey!)
....all gathered there at once,
then Tommy had a hunch
there’d be a game with Tom
to keep him up ‘til dawn
At least to keep the door,
right up to two or four,
OPEN!
while the cop-shop denizens
with flashing photo guns
shot our license plates, when
even then, perched on trunks,
we passed around the wine,
recalled forgotten lines......
Back once upon a time
in bygone days of Yore,
we played a game with Tom;
an’kept him open
up ‘til four.
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