The way I figure it, we've lived here for over 15 years so we can speak openly of its flaws and perks. I love New York kinda like I love my Uncle R. He's probably a bit of a turd. Didn't treat his wife or kids very well, as a matter of fact, I know that he didn't. And that's an understatement of the grand kind. He was the type of drunk that would start a fight if you looked at him cross ways or at all. He had a mean streak and was never kind to me as a kid or an adult. I always resented having to put up with any of his ignorance even as a small child. But he was my dad's brother and in a way, he was a part of me, so I loved him. I sometimes pitied him, sometimes hated, sometimes felt so much frustration over his behavior. But I loved him. That's how I figure I love New York.
We went to see our godson play guitar at Blueberry Hill, Chuck Berry's club in St. Louis as a surprise. Afterwards we thought it might be cool to drive to Nashville, mainly to get some good BBQ. We musta really wanted it bad because we had to drive through five straight hours of torrential rain to get there. It was so cold and gloomy that we didn't stick around to check out much. Driving in, there were tornado warning bulletins on the radio from the nineteen fifties, almost inaudible, telling us to 'take shelter' and with some urgency. Some system was seen 10 miles out of who knows where and heading straight for us. The rivers and lakes were bursting at the seams so basically we checked off our to do's and headed out the next day with some urgency.
Having not seen much of it at all, I'm going to say Nashville is like my uncle J. I didn't really know him very well. I could see he was kinda interesting just by looking at him and studying him a spell. He could have played the villain in a good western, always wore black and pointy toed cowboy boots. He'd lost a son when the boy was quite young and I could see my uncle had been through it, to it and back again. He'd lost that sparkle in his eyes even though he'd dress up for the occasions when we'd all get together. He drank a ton too but it seemed only to forget. They were working on Nashville but it seemed a bit of a mish-mash. There was that tiny strip of Broadway where something once happened. The whole town felt like they were celebrating something that happened there a long time ago.
It probably couldn't be farther from the truth. Nashville maybe has a thriving music scene and is right now creating the next Tammy Wynette. I hope so. Just like I hope I got my uncle all wrong and he wasn't empty inside or broken.
The barbecue was descent. The sauces were all super tasty and the cornbread was some of the best simple cornbread I've ever had. We spent time honoring all our heroes at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum.
My dad was cooler than any of his brothers come to think of it.
Memphis has better bbq and is sadder. You would've enjoyed it more.
ReplyDeleteSounds like we're getting into my Uncle N territory...but Memphis was almost underwater when we passed through...anything south, southwest of Nashville was gettin' pretty bad.
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