Nashville Nights

Nashville is an absolute gas, a huge surprise, and has landed hard on my "I Shall Return" list! What a fun little city.

Had I not just been in Mississippi I would have never thought that going to Nashville would feel like going north, but oooh boy, Tennessee is way north of Mississippi! I now understand the difference between the Deep South and what Tennessee people call the Mid South. OK, maybe I don't understand it, but I sure notice it. Notable differences include the presence of bookstores, and the high proportion of houses and other buildings that had complete roofs-doors-windows to keep the outside where it said it was.

I'm only here for a couple nights before I officially begin my trip home, but that's plenty of time to marvel and mingle in the downtown live-music scene, see a concert at the Grand Ole Opry, check out the Vanderbilt University campus, and generally avoid eating good-for-you food for 48 hours.

Here's my first dinner.
If it looks like "Fritos Chili with Melted Cheese," that's because it is. I did not need the ash tray, but yes, there are some bars where smoking is somehow legal.

There is free, no-cover-charge music at ten or twenty bars or music halls downtown... drop in and enjoy it all. (Some eves around 9 PM some places start charging $5.) This barmaid had perfected a vast choreography of impressive whiskey-bottle-tossing tricksto accompany the band, but I decided this isn't how I want my daughter to impress people. There's lots of country music, but also lots of rock, good cover bands everywhere, a rockin' dueling piano bar, and lots of reminders about how many, many talented musicians duel to earn a living!

I went into a karaoke bar for the first time in my life, because I couldn't believe what a powerful voice I heard blasting onto the sidewalk. There I saw a young diva, strutting the bar,
belting out the rock tunes with as much heat and heartand talent as anyone on your iPod!

I was lucky to buy an extra ticket from the Fun Family From Fresno (CA) who had bought Ma
a birthday trip to the Grand Ole Opry. They discovered I was a country music novice, took mercy,
and patiently explained the whole evening as it unfolded. I saw Vince Gill (had I known that Charlie Daniels was playing the night before...), and the official Opry induction of Josh Carter... evidently country music fans would be wowed by either of those events! Fun music, and, man oh man, that Josh Carter has quite the voice for a young 29-er!