Emily Paine Carter

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First, a few fun facts about colorful characters Jimmy and Joe Gladden:

Music flows through the Mangus Holler-area of Glenvar, home of the Gladden clan. The recordings of their late grandmother , the legendary Appalachian folksinger Texas Gladden, are archived in the Library of Congress ; All the Gladdens I know are music fans. Many played in a band, including Jimmy and Joe’s brother Jerry and other Gladdens with Truckers’ Delight, or still play in a band, as Jimmy’s son Jay does with his group Crobar Cane . Some “work the sound” for bands, as Jimmy and Joe do. Assorted fine carpentry by the two-brother team decorates Southwest Virginia.

They may look rough-hewn, but they’re smart, funny, well-read, practical , kind hearted, salt-of-the-earth. Jimmy, voted the “wittiest” guy, Andrew Lewis High School Class of 1966, first captivated me with hilarious notes and motorcycle sketches in sociology class.

And Jimmy, Joe and their families have tallied many hours helping raise funds for needy folks.

The not-so-fun fact: Now Jimmy and Joe are in need, thanks to two “freak accidents.” Jimmy said both took one step backward, Joe, onto a dog’s bowl, severing his Achilles tendon; three days later, Jimmy fractured his pelvis.

“After all our climbing ladders, scaffolding … then this — on ground level, ” mused Jimmy, shaking his head, during his stay at Lewis-Gale Medical Center in May . “I’d just said I’d been lucky — no accidents or long sickness.”

Those two steps backward set their lives way back. Joe had another medical crisis, and a crashing tree limb damaged Jimmy’s truck. They would not ask for help, but friends insisted. How else could the already-frugal , under insured brothers — unable to work for months — pay their big, scary bills?

So Patty Gladden, Jimmy’s second ex-wife, and Susan Pence, widow of beloved charity organizer Richie Pence, secretly mailed letters requesting help. Jimmy “Mertz” Carroll saw one and immediately called his Rhythm Doctors band-mate Andy Hough. Andy organized a July 7 benefit gig — the Doctors’ first club appearance in 10 years, Andy wrote in an e-mail.

They’ll be joined at Awful Arthur’s Salem restaurant by bands Encore and longtime Gladden-associated Truckers’ Delight. So fans who have had to choose between once-a-year-at-Thanksgiving gigs — Doctors at Hotel Roanoke, Truckers at the Coffee Pot — can enjoy both, and Encore as well. Alas, Jay’s band, Crobar Cane, has a Staunton gig that night. Jimmy’s daughter Mary works at Arthur’s.

“Music! Perfect for Gladdens, ” enthused Patty about the upcoming fundraiser. She had to inform, and then calm, a protesting Jimmy about the event. “I said, 'Jesse (Patty calls Jimmy “Jesse” ), every time we’ve done a benefit, [you and Joe] are the first to come and the last to leave. If Mertz were hurt, you’d help. Be thankful you live in this rare place where people take care of each other.

“ 'Only collectively can we do a lot,’ ” Patty had told him. “ 'Big companies have workman’s comp, but you work for everybody. So everybody wants to do this for you. Plus, we’ll all have a blast. ’ ” Just what the Rhythm Doctors ordered.

Patty emphasized, “ They’re humbled, almost embarrassed. They aren’t taking this for granted.”

As a wise Presbyterian minister said of the biblical story of the kindly Good Samaritan , sometimes we’re the injured guy in the ditch. In friends’ words: Shut up and let us help.

The show is July 7, 9 p.m., at Awful Arthur’s, 1302 W. Main St., Salem, The $5 cover charge will be donated to the fund. For other donations, contact Andy Hough for the Gladden Fund, 7027 Brookview Road, Roanoke, VA 24019.