A broken-down bus that long lived at Austin’s famous honky-tonk shows some respect for the Man in Black.

The missing 1948 Flxible Clipper bus that once lent its retro funk to Austin’s best-known dance hall, the Broken Spoke, made an unannounced road trip last spring to Adkins, Texas and ended up parked at Texas Pride Barbecue. Seems that the leader of the 1960s Western swing band, the Texas Top Hands, finally reclaimed his ownership rights to their touring bus, putting himself firmly back at its wheel. But the Clipper’s disappearance came as an unwelcome surprise to the Broken Spoke’s owner and fans—as Johnny himself might describe them, “men with broken hearts.”

During its time spent at the Broken Spoke‘s parking lot, the bus had become a landmark there, but despite its rough condition, the band’s passion for Johnny Cash still showed on one of its many cracked windows. God Bless Johnny Cash. And broken old tour buses, too. ♣

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