We watched Walk the Line tonight with some friends, and all I can say is "Wow!"

I have been a Johnny Cash fan for a long time (not just since his death like many folks). There’s a special tie between Johnny Cash and the town where I am from, Welch, Oklahoma. That was before my time, but I have always been a Cash fan and working at KITO in Vinita when I was in high school just increased my admiration for the man and his music.

What I love about Johnny Cash is that he was 100% real and he had his share of problems, as you will see if you watch the movie, but more than that, Johnny Cash’s story is one of redemption. June might have been a part of the means, but Johnny was always very clear that is was Christ that had saved him. I cannot find the quote now, but I remember one from Johnny that had something to do with whether he was going to heaven or hell. His response was heaven, because he’d already been to hell. Here’s another one from Johnny: "How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."

If you own Johnny’s last album, you know it was a farewell to us all, and not just "Hurt" (which was great). "Hurt" got lots of attention by the press, but "The Man Comes Around" came from Johnny’s own pen, and it is stirring, moving, and life-changing. After Johnny’s death, CMT did a tribute. It was OK, but mostly it was others butchering Johnny’s songs. The most poignant part of the broadcast was Rosanne Cash’s words about her father. I blogged about them on the old blog, and you can read it here. In Walk the Line, Joaquin Phoenix did a great honor to Johnny Cash and his life and work. Reese Witherspoon did the same for June.

Johnny may have been a troubled soul, but he was a redeemed troubled soul, and that’s what makes all the difference. See the movie.