Happy People in Nashville

"Research has shown that the best way to be happy is to make each day happy."

---Deepok Chopra

When Julie and I arrived in Nashville, our effervescent granddaughter Emma greeted us in the lobby of the airport-close Red Roof Inn.

Emma's daddy Laszlo soon joined us.

At Shoney's diner, we found the daily special was a 70 cent cheese burger to celebrate their 70th Anniversary, and we knew we definitely weren't in California any more.

Son Jay and his girlfriend Sasha arrived on our flight, but they celebrated their October birthdays with a night on the town and a penthouse suite at a downtown hotel.  They wouldn't be joining us until the next afternoon, after Jay concluded meeting with Universal Music's Nashville division, which was his reason for going to Nashville and the genesis of this family reunion.

Emma's mommy Gina, however arrived in the morning.  Gina, Laszlo, Emma, Julie and I drove our Thrifty Rental Car to President Andrew Jackson's estate, where they're currently celebrating his 250th birthday.  That hasn't garnered as much attention as Central Europe's feting of Maria Theresa's 300th birthday, which we had recently experienced on our Danube River cruise.

In order to take time off school, Emma's teacher had been promised Emma would experience some historical places, and the home of Jackson, an outsider President to whom Donald Trump has been compared both favorably and unfavorably by some pundits, made a logical first stop.

I had just finished reading a novel, The Jefferson Code, which included passages about the factual failed assassination attempt on President Jackson as part of a presumably fictional multi-generational conspiracy by pirates, so once again I found that my reality bent to touch on something I had been thinking about.

The second place Laszlo had told Emma's teacher she would visit was the full sized replica of the Parthenon, as it appeared at the time it was completed.

That wasn't a big surprise to my subconscious mind, because another book I had recently read was The Day Democracy Died, a very interesting historical story about the greatest naval victory in the history of Athens which turned to disaster for the generals due to mob mentality.

Emma, however, was most excited about swing benches near the large lake of Millennial Park beside the Parthenon, and she wasn't all that eager to see the gigantic statue of Athena or the museum pieces inside the Parthenon.

You may wonder how a full scale model of the Parthenon came to be built in Nashville, of all places.

Millennial Park had been completed in 1897, to celebrate 100 years of Tennessee statehood, and as with other turn of the century era celebrations, Nashville wanted to not only celebrate modern technologies but to pay homage to history, in this case the most famous structure from the birthplace of democracy, ancient Athens.

Reading that placard brought to mind a similar description of City Park in Budapest, built to celebrate the 1,000 year anniversary of the arrival of Hungary's ancestral Magyar tribes from central Asia, which included monuments to historical architectural styles found throughout Hungary.

As I've mentioned before, our son-in-law Laszlo's family immigrated from Slovakia, which historically was part of greater Hungary.

That type of serendipity seems to constantly unfold or me, beginning first thing in the morning when I do my crossword puzzle and find clues that reference something I had discussed or heard recently.

And it doesn't apply exclusively to trivia.

If we think about happiness, that is what we find at every turn, and I'm happy to say all my children have tied into life streams of positive synchronicity, too.

After taking time to find some fun in the beautiful park surrounding the Parthenon and touring that impressive replica, we headed over to the 4 bedroom house on the outskirts of Nashville which we had rented for the next four nights.

Like a song where other instruments gradually enter the arrangement as it moves forward, we were soon joined at the house by Jay and Sasha, and later that night, daughter Amy arrived from New York City.

What a wonderful houseful of happiness we had!

Nashville Cats

If you're someone who insists on structure and schedules in your life, then any type of reunion can feel like herding cats.

Unlike a cruise where it's easy to head to the dining room or buffet for a family meal, our rental house stay required a few of us to make a trip to the store to stock up on provisions, followed by choosing a suitable place for dinner.

With only a 5-passenger sedan, we selected Edley's BBQ.  Julie and Gina, who both had injured feet, rode with me (the only authorized driver), and the others walked the mile or two.  It turned out to be a great place to eat, with all of us finding something that suited our palates.  I'd have to say the three meat combo special with two sides for $15 that Jay and Sasha shared seemed to be the best value.  My burnt ends with grits casserole tasted great and proved to be enough food for me, even if it did look like a dog had eaten too many hush puppies and gotten sick in the pan that served as my plate.

Everyone else seemed happy with their meals, too.

At the restaurant, we learned Amy's flight had been delayed, so we returned to the house for some card games, something our family enjoys.  We had discussed going downtown to hear some live music, which is everyone in Nashville, but Laszlo, who would be leaving in the morning, said he'd prefer the quieter setting of the living room for discussion, and everyone else agreed.

At 9:30, Julie and I headed to the airport to pick up Amy, who texted that she was starving.

I asked how Bojangles spicy chicken sounded, and she said great, but by the time she landed, Bojangles and most other fast food restaurants were closed.  We eventually settled on Waffle House, and Amy's Texas Cheese Steak Sandwich (think Philly Cheese Steak with Texas toast instead of a roll)  with hash browns was great.

When we arrived back "home," more card playing fun ensued at our happy full house.

The next morning, however, we would already be losing one of our number, as Laszlo had booked a flight to Philadelphia on Friday morning so he wouldn't miss his SAT tutoring job on Saturday.  I took him to the airport with time to spare, but his flight was delayed, so he ended up spending the whole day in airports and airplanes for what could have been a two hour flight.

We had originally thought we'd take taxis downtown, but once we had rented a car, we decided to go in shifts.


I dropped off Gina, Amy, Sasha and Jay, who snagged a great corner table at the rooftop bar of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and then went home to pick up Julie and Emma.

While it would be easier to simply meet at an onboard lounge of a cruise ship, I have to say that I really enjoyed driving back and forth to transport everyone, reminding me of happy days when I was taking our kids to ice skating, karate, ballet and other activities, enjoying offhand conversations in concentrated bursts on the drives.

Parking downtown was $20 for 3 hours or $30 for 8 hours, and I made what turned out to be the wise choice with 8 hours.

Our corner table was a glorious place to look down at the city, with the live music distant enough to not interfere with our conversation... and vice versa.  As is more standard in our family than others, a deck of cards...Nashville souvenir cards purchased by Gina on the way to the table apparently...allowed us to play War, a game Emma learned from her Nana Julie the night before.

We instituted a rule we'd first introduced when my children were little that we call "Cream Puff Buff," whereby a lowly two beats an ace.  Just to add a new twist, in Nashville we added the "Dreaded Seven of Diamonds" would beat a two, if the two was beating an ace.

The background of that card name came in another game we've played repeatedly, Spades, in which we had a run where people bidding nil (take no tricks) seemed to meet their Waterloo when the Dreaded Seven of Diamonds was played.

I prophetically stated that rule probably won't come up for another five years, but within 30 minutes, sure enough a seven of diamonds won the war by beating a two that had beat an ace!

It was lunch time, so Julie and Gina probably made the right calls for Diet Cokes, while Emma had a lemonade, but the rest of us had Coors Light with a lime on the rim, except Sasha, who had hard cider.

Emma had some chicken tenders which she seemed to enjoy, sharing her French fries with everyone at the table.  An order of nachos for the table was also tasty and sated our appetites.

Gina beat Amy in some kind of credit card war and picked up the tab, which didn't seem fair in that she and Emma would be leaving us the next day.

However, tomorrow was a long way off.

We headed through the sunny streets of Nashville to find another venue.

The band at the front of Layla's, a couple of doors away, sounded great, with a versatile singer backed by a terrific band, so we were soon inside.  Julie wanted more of a walk and left quickly, but the rest of us found our exercise dancing by our table.  No, it wasn't a dance floor, but no one seemed to mind.

Mostly, we danced as couples, but Emma came up with some dazzling solo dance steps of her own, including dramatic pauses where she struck a pose with her face nearly buried inside her elbow.

After an hour or so, we headed back out again, but not before Julie rejoined us and we Texas Two Stepped (okay, it was more of a country polka) around our "dance floor.".

Every bar seemed to have at least one great band playing, with singers and musicians so good that I couldn't help thinking about the words to the classic John Sebastian song:
"There's thirteen hundred and fifty two Guitar cases in Nashville, and any one that unpacks his guitar could play twice as better than I will."

That was a revelation I made the only other time I visited Nashville, during the bicentennial year 1976 as a young man who went everywhere with a guitar case himself.



Interestingly, it was non-country venues that had long lines outside; those were found at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and BB King's Blues Club.  I told Jay that Universal should advise Snoop Dogg or some other hiphop artist open a bar there.

Jay immediately grasped the brilliance of the concept (or at least played along), saying the artist should be Nelly, and he could call the joint  "Country Grammar," apparently a hit song I'd never heard but that does seem to have the perfect name (admittedly I originally thought Jay said "Country Gramma").

Emma had been a good sport about everything, especially considering her musical tastes run more to Disney songs like "Let It Go" or pop tunes like "It's All About the Bass," so when Jay and Sasha spotted a candy store, they recommended going over there, allowing Emma to pick out enough candies to fill a small bag.  Jay downed some of Pixie Stix and Necco Wafers himself, easily enough to send his triglycerides totally out of whack.

By mid-afternoon, Emma, Nana Julie and Sasha were done with downtown Nashville's music scene, so I took them home while the others headed to Robert's Western World for lunch of a fried balogna sandwich with a PBR combo for $5.

I was able to return to the same parking lot using the same receipt.

By the time I parked, I was very proud of the fact that I negotiated past what had become major traffic jams using side streets, back alleys and even parking lots which I had learned about on prior drives.

I felt like I must be driving like a local, and by the time I made another half dozen trips to and from the airport, I felt like a Nashville native.

The kids had secured a great table in the loft, where we proceeded to play cards and listen to another top notch band.

Eventually we felt we should clear the table for country fans starting their honky tonkin' evening, because after already spending a great day listening to bands downtown, we had tickets for the Grand Ole Opry that night.














All that and a bag of chips, baby!

Nashville: July, 1976

Before departing Alabama, cousin Steve made sure I saw Kaw-Liga, the wooden Indian who was the title character from the cassic Hank Williams song. At some point, I also bought a biography of Hank Williams, who along with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Satchell Page, Gomer Pile (Jim Nabors), Conoleeza Rice, Lionel Richie, Kenny Stabler, Jesse Owens, Emmylou Harris, Paula Poundstone and Taylor Hicks were all Alabama natives.

I intermittently read that biography while the bus rolled along country highways, but the scenery was pretty captivating, too. I could play my guitar quietly and look at the scenery, so I did that more. I thought Hank Williams Junior played at the concert cousing Steve and I attended near Montgomery, but in double checking my facts, I found he was still recovering from a serious mountain-climbing accident, so I must have been wrong.

The novelty song "Uneasy Rider" by Charlie Daniels was a popular country song I had never heard until my cousin Donald told me about it on this trip, and maybe Daniels was at that concert instead of Bocephus. Anyway, I decided to head to the hub of country music, Nashville, to learn a little more.

Upon arriving, I sat myself down on a bench and began playing a few songs on my guitar, which I seemed to do upon arriving anywhere in those days. I knew lots of chord patterns and lyrics, so I could play and sing several hundred songs, something that probably was depressing for anyone who had to listen to me play, because I never seemed to run out of songs. As I played, this guy with long blonde hair and a cowboy hat came by to offer encouragement.

Country Rich was a little older than me, and he had been in Nashville for several months, hoping to get his big break. He asked me if I would be interested in going to a recording studio, and I quickly accepted the offer. They knew him at the studio, but I can't say they were impressed to meet another guy off the street. Nonetheless, they let us sit in the control room and watch some track recording, which is really kind of tedious as they seek perfection.

I wish I could say I remember more about the two days I spent in Nashville, but the memories have faded. I know Country Rich and I played and sang a lot of songs on street corners, offering a little lead guitar to each other's songs, and sometimes we received donations.

At the time, I mostly strummed out songs, which served to give a beat and wall of sound behind my pitiful voice, but it definitely lacked a lot. Country Rich helped me incorporate more flat picking into my country songs, with the thumb thumping out a base line to accompany the chords. I'm pretty sure I previously flatpicked on a few songs, definitely on "Mr. Bojangles" in the key of D, but he showed me a few simple techniques that helped.

Country Rich also introduced me to Jimbo's Biscuit Barn, where they had delicious biscuits and great prices. I think two biscuits with butter and honey was 40 cents, and they also had great sausage biscuit and fried chicken biscuit sandwiches for under a dollar. This was before McDonald's introduced their line of biscuit foods, and I was duly impressed by the concept. I returned there a couple of times to eat. I'm not sure why I took the photo of this sandwich shop. Maybe this was Jimbo's, but I don't think it was. Nonethess, it is representative of the many greasy spoons I enjoyed when I couldn't find the familiar golden arches to have my primary sustenance of French fries and a vanilla shake.

You always have to be leery of strangers you meet on the road, but Country Rich proved to be just a friendly guy seeking his dream of being a recording star in Nashville. He was a good guide and friendly traveling companion in Nashville. I wonder if he ever broke through as a country artist.

And then there were five

If you go to Hattie B's Hot Fried Chicken in Nashville for lunch, most likely you'll find a line overflowing out the door.

Yes, it is that good.

Their signature chicken comes in varying heats, and perhaps because none of us ordered any hotter than "warming up," we all loved it.  The side dishes were tasty too.

That served as the farewell meal for Gina and Emma, whom I drove to the airport immediately after lunch.

With only five of us left, we were able to all pile into the sedan to drive to Edwin Warner Park, where we enjoyed a pleasant hike, spotting some deer and other wildlife.

Because the path was paved, it made it easier for Amy, whose broken leg was still healing.

Our evening started unconventionally with a trip to the local Goodwill Thrift shop, where Amy hoped to find some elements for her Halloween costume as a Ghostbuster Kate McKinnon.

While she failed to find a denim lab coat, she did get the perfect pair of slacks.

Meanwhile, Jay and Sasha pursued one of their favorite pastimes, scoping out out a record store that happened to be across the street.  They picked up some classic vinyl from the chatty old hippie who manned the cash drawer.

Jay's Uber driver that took them to the Grand Ole Opry recommended a neighborhood called Five Points as another happening spot in Nashville.

While the restaurants and bars seemed to be hopping, it wasn't nearly the music scene as downtown.  We dined at another branch of Edley's, but on Saturday night they didn't have 2 craft beers for $5 or three meat meal for $15 like the Edley's by our house had on Thursday.  Still, it was another good meal.



Later that evening, we slogged through downtown traffic to the Gulch, where we somehow we gained free admission to see the last half hour of Blue Mafia set at Station Inn, which Jay had pegged in advance as a place to hear bluegrass.   Great show!

After debating whether we should go to church or take a hike before the forecast rain arrived, we headed for a hike, stopping along the way at Centennial Park for a photo op by the Parthenon.

The Deer Trail at Long Hunter State Park ironically didn't reveal any deer as we'd seen the previous day, but it proved to be a pleasant excursion.

We made it to the lake and back just before the rain started coming down in earnest.

Our plan was to go for soul food and live gospel music to Carol Ann's, in a neighborhood where I'd spent a lot of time on my first visit to Nashville in 1976, but the rain was coming down so hard that we got off the freeway to take a break for snacks at Hardee's, the southern branch of Carl's Jr.

It was lucky we ate more than we intended due to me succumbing to the bargain of a $5 box, which even split by Julie, Amy and me took the edge off our appetites, because it turned out that Carol Ann's didn't have gospel on Sunday afternoon after all.

We headed back to the Gulch, where we had initially met up Jay and Sasha in Nashville. The girls did a little window shopping.  Julie actually bought something for her own wardrobe, which rarely happens.

The main draw for Jay and me was craft beer and killer cole slaw at The Pub.

I was going to order my standard pub beverage, the surprisingly low-calorie Guinness, but on the pub menu was a Nashville Peanut Butter Nitro Stout.  That turned out to be the best beer I've ever tasted.

Now with gas in our tanks (one pint, so I wasn't too impaired for driving), we headed to Printer's Alley downtown, where we found some outstanding blues rock.

The cover band played a terrific set that included lots of old favorites from the '70's and earlier, primarily in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top.

The southern food in Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar was also delicious.

We had a massive hamburger came on a hush puppy bun that was crumbly but scrumptious, a perfect combination with the beef.

And here I thought hush puppies were just a side dish for fish fries.

In case I didn't make it clear, we thoroughly enjoyed our lighthearted family reunion in Nashville.