IT BEGAN with an ending. We did not realize then how fortunate we were to see Johnny Cash one last time. His career was riding tailwinds then, and he sounded in full voice, but there were portents in the air. His own breath sometimes came up short. I did not know that August 10, 1997, at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, would be the last time Johnny ever played my hometown. […]

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