Times A'Changing

I saw a tiny notice on the obituary page that on January 3 William Zantzinger died at age 69. That sent a creepy chill up my spine, as if some nightmare from the past had returned only to pass away again. Fans of Bob Dylan will recall the "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" which begins "William Zanzinger (sic) killed poor Hattie Carroll/With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger." That song from 1964's The Times They Are A'Changing recounts the young Zantzinger's killing the the black 51-year-old barmaid and mother of 11. He received only a six month sentence for manslaughter. According to this story in the Washington Post, Zantzinger lived rather dubiously the rest of his life. I'm sure glad he got to see a black man elected to the Presidency. The times really are a'changing.