Leaving Illinois in the rear view mirror is a good thing. I say that in the context of this trip, though I confess to regularly dreaming about making it permanent. Our car is fixed, we've calmed down, and we are into Kentucky, a fact underscored by the condition of the roads: smooth and free. We drop vertically through the horizontal space of KY and start rolling through the hills on Tennessee. Shortly, we have arrived in Nashville.
Think back a year ago to the national news stories about the floods in Nashville. Thirty or forty seconds of video each evening for a week or so. Barely caught your attention. On Saturday evening we saw the scope of the damage. It was enormous.
If you're from the Chicago area, imagine the shopping centers of Orland Park, all strung together, from 159th Street north to 143rd. Add in a big Bass Pro Shop and a beautiful, 4,500 seat state of the art theatre (the Grand Ole Opry). Now put 10 feet of river water in the mall and the surrounding parking lots. The river spread out from its banks over a half mile when the levees broke, spilling over the adjoining highway. Incredible scope. Stores, restaurants, bars, everything, and the area I'm referencing is just one small spot on the map. The mall has not yet reopened, but the Grand Ole Opry has. That's where we spent Saturday night.
If you have any interest in country music, you absolutely must get to the Opry.
The theatre itself opened in 1974, assuming the shows previously put on downtown at the Ryman. While the Ryman is small and quaint, the Grand Ole Opry is 4,500 seats of state of the art technology. It retains one of the neat features of the old building : all the seating is in church pew types seats, though they have nice thick upholstered seat cushions. The Saturday night shows are live radio broadcasts on WSM from Nashville, the focal point in the universe for country music, starting promptly at 7, with a different host for each of the 4 half hour segments.
This format, this entire presentation, a stage show on radio, free, AM radio, is so at odds with contemporary channels that it's hard to grasp how it can possibly work. Be assured, it does indeed work. There are incredible talented performers, huge video images in four different places, acoustics that seem flawless...and every few minutes, they cut away to the stage announcer, who reads live commercials. To the AM radio audience. They're also broadcast on Sirius XM satellite radio, but that's not a huge outlet. It's mostly AM radio listeners. Amazing.
We saw lots of great performers, had a wonderful time, as the show bridged the generations. Then we spent another hour in a bar, the three of us, mom, dad and child, listening to some more live entertainment. Nashville is a fun, fun place. I am amazed at the resilience of these people and this place.
Tomorrow we move on south, through the tedium of Georgia. Tampa has become an inevetible conclusion.
Think back a year ago to the national news stories about the floods in Nashville. Thirty or forty seconds of video each evening for a week or so. Barely caught your attention. On Saturday evening we saw the scope of the damage. It was enormous.
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| Here's what the Grand Ole Opry looked like when the Cumberland River came gushing out of its banks. |
If you have any interest in country music, you absolutely must get to the Opry.
The theatre itself opened in 1974, assuming the shows previously put on downtown at the Ryman. While the Ryman is small and quaint, the Grand Ole Opry is 4,500 seats of state of the art technology. It retains one of the neat features of the old building : all the seating is in church pew types seats, though they have nice thick upholstered seat cushions. The Saturday night shows are live radio broadcasts on WSM from Nashville, the focal point in the universe for country music, starting promptly at 7, with a different host for each of the 4 half hour segments.
This format, this entire presentation, a stage show on radio, free, AM radio, is so at odds with contemporary channels that it's hard to grasp how it can possibly work. Be assured, it does indeed work. There are incredible talented performers, huge video images in four different places, acoustics that seem flawless...and every few minutes, they cut away to the stage announcer, who reads live commercials. To the AM radio audience. They're also broadcast on Sirius XM satellite radio, but that's not a huge outlet. It's mostly AM radio listeners. Amazing.
We saw lots of great performers, had a wonderful time, as the show bridged the generations. Then we spent another hour in a bar, the three of us, mom, dad and child, listening to some more live entertainment. Nashville is a fun, fun place. I am amazed at the resilience of these people and this place.
Tomorrow we move on south, through the tedium of Georgia. Tampa has become an inevetible conclusion.
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