In praise of dirt

There is something to be said for getting out in the wider more open spaces and just exploring.  I'm a big fan, personally.  So when a nice little day outing was offered at the infamous 'dirt pile', we packed our lunch, a change of clothes and a towel and hit the road!

Cora has never been much of a get dirty kind of gal.  Get wet and swim?  You bet! But stuff on her hands HAS to come off as soon as she can drag me to the bathroom sink.  So I thought we'd check it out and see if she liked it.  If not, we packed a snack and could just hang out.

I could be wrong here, but I'm thinking it was a hit.  And I'm so glad.  I hope to return there as often as we can and let her explore the world around her in this tactile way.  Mudpies, sandbox, a little log cabin, a spigot for making mud, a spigot for cleaning up.  Benches for mamas in the shade...Oh how I wish it were on our side of town!

Technically called the 'Nature Play Area', but lovingly referred to by mamas and kids alike as 'the dirt pile', this fantastic kids space is set on the fringe of huge Edwin Warner and Percy Warner Parks, just behind the Warner Park Nature center.  Directions and details can be found here.  I highly recommend this adventure!

 A word of warning to you though, don't let your kids wear anything you care about to the dirt pile!  See that hat?  Yeah.  It used to be white and no amount of soaking in Oxyclean has gotten it white again. Ah well.  Happy adventuring!

Nashville Flood - the story behind the story

In case you haven't heard due to oil spills off the coast and bomb threats in NYC, Nashville flooded over the weekend.  Torrential rains fell for two days filling reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and creeks then spilling over into neighborhoods, downtown business districts, everywhere.  The death tole climbs as the flood waters recede.  It's all over the news.  You can watch it here.  Read about it here.

There's a story behind the story, though.  It is in the volunteers that mobilized and helped those in danger, and those in need.  The local East Nashville (our little neighborhood) google group was abuzz with posts asking how people could help.  Alan Murdock and Tracy McTamaney had neighbors rally to the Art House Gardens and organized teams with buckets pumps, shovels, and manpower to head out into the neighborhood for recovery efforts.  Our house was flooded, but by comparison to some of our neighbors, we got off easy.  Still the volunteers came yesterday and removed a massive pile of debris from our basement.  It would have taken Matt and I weeks by ourselves and who knows what mold would have festered there in the mean time.  We have been blessed and cared for in abundance!   Here's another story about volunteering in our area.

As homes become accessible, the cleanup efforts will continue.  Your sweat equity (and trash bags!) are needed.  Want to volunteer or make donations?  Here are a few options:

Hands on Nashville -a great way to help locally

ArtHouse Gardens - local East Nashville effort, collecting supplies, mobilizing teams Call Alan at 243.5499 

Check with your church!  (City Church folks can call Catherine) Many local churches are sending out volunteers with supplies, food, and provisions.

Donate to the Red Cross at their website, or text message "REDCROSS" to 90999 and make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from a prepaid account balance.

Head over to Do Something. org to organize your own local effort.  We've heard of former Nashville residents organizing clothing drives to bring into Nashville.  Right now, the needs are for bottled water, camping supplies etc.

Martha O'Bryan Center Emergency Food bank - needs volunteers to deliver meals to homebound folks. If anyone can volunteer, please call our Volunteer Coordinator, Judy Gaither, or Meals on Wheels coordinator, Jennifer Milam, at 254-1791

Here are a few more options posted by Nashville's local paper - the Tennessean

City Baby

[I was out sick yesterday with something wrong with my back.  I couldn't even lift the baby!  Stress, new exercises, fatigue...they lead to my body forcing me to take a rest.  Even to sit in this chair and type is pretty painful, so I beg your leave if this post is less than coherent.]

We've been making an effort to get outside whenever we can since the sunlit times are few and far between.  Thus, lots of Cora in her 'snow suit'.  (as if there were snow...ha!)  Walks in the morning, with stroller and dog.  We just kinda throw on warm layers and head out (sometimes.  Sometimes the warm covers call us back before we get out of the door!)

Since our little VW is taking sick days lately, we are down to one car.  And me and my city baby head to the bus stop and take rides downtown.  Mostly to the downtown library for story time.  I like that she is a city baby, but I miss the country.  I thought of that just before Christmas when I had to trespass to get some pine cones for my table!  So sad.

(Cora eyeballing a stranger on the bus)

I grew up with nature all around me on 24 acres where I roamed to my heart's content.  Mama just wanted a general idea of where we were, as long as we were home by twilight.  When I think about those days, our life here feels a bit confined, a little too urban (or sub-urban).  I don't want her growing up and not knowing how to light a camp fire, or how to catch crawdads in the creek, or how to worm a hook for fishing.  These are life skills, people!  It's where we are right now, and that is OK, but there is a soft tune of country roads in the back of my mind.  Who knows where that may end up calling us some day. 

Standing By: A benefit for East Nashville Cooperative Ministry

{I promised two posts today so this is 1 of 2. 2 of 2 is here}

East Nashville Cooperative Ministry is an amazing ministry that I volunteer for. Here is a group where those of different faiths, socioeconomic status, race, creed, and much more band together to serve people in need in our community. The work they do touches lives all over our community and in fact, it touched ours. They provided us with food boxes and formula when Matt lost his job and WIC and food stamps had not kicked in. Without them, we would have been living on rice and well...rice.

Coming up next week is a fabulous benefit for ENCM at the Belcourt Theater in Hillsboro Village which, if you live in Nashville, you should SO attend. Not only is it for a great cause, it's awesome music! More details below!

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 @ 8pm

at The Belcourt

for

Standing By – a benefit for East Nashville Cooperative Ministries

with performances by

Plumb

with

Fly Golden Eagle and Rae Hering

Tickets on sale now at The Belcourt

(Link directly to ticket sales)

RSVP and discuss this event on Facebook

Chock-tober :: Oktoberfest

It seems like every nook and cranny of this month is filled with festivals, fun, and friends (and apparently lots of things that start with F.) Between MOMS club activities, free stuff going on in the city, and birthdays, we are going somewhere most every day! I'll be posting pictures from our adventures around the city for the rest of this chock full month.

This past weekend we hit Nashville's Oktoberfest, which was HUGE this year with food, a kids section, more food, a couple of stages (where we never heard ANY polka music! What's up with that?!) and more food. Oh, and the Biergarten, lest we forget. Here's a little taste:

If I only blogged my dreams

If my dreams were all I put up here, some days it would be a helluva read. For example.

Last night, I dreamed I was trying to get a part time job at Burger King, not a real burger king, but the kind that was a storefront, so only one fry basket and a small grill. Apparently a friend of mine from college, whom we called Del Fuego (because her last name was Del Figlio and...well, it was college and we thought we were clever) worked there and she was trying to get me hired. SO I worked a whole day and then no one ever told me to come back, but they gave me a uniform (of sorts) or tried to. There was a room full of second hand jeans and two moms were passing out the size we needed, we just had to tell them. I told them my size but that it had to be maternity. They just stared at me. Then the owner came in and wanted a conduit run so his daughter could get burgers in her bedroom. Still no word about whether I worked there or not. Then, me in my street clothes and untrained was made to stand at the front of the store while the customers piled up. When I went to ask what I should do, they said, "Nothing. You aren't trained yet." A bunch of them were lying on their stomachs in the break room, coloring (with crayons). SO I just stood there and oddly enough so did the patrons. No one got mad, they just stared at me.

Then my friend came in like she had the best news in the world, bouncing! I got the job and I start right now and my shifts would be 12 hours. I mentioned I was pregnant and she was shocked. (you saw the pics right? There doesn't seem to be much question left as to my state) She said she didn't know! I asked what she thought this big belly was and she blushed and said she thought I'd just put on weight since college. (Sigh)

My first job was to transport used uniforms to be cleaned. However, when I opened the bag, there were two bandannas, one orange and one green which had money in them and a note for me saying I should keep my mouth shut and here was a little bribe money, and oddly enough some jewelry components in an envelope for me if I didn't say anything. The bandannas were color coded to the GANG they belonged to and I was supposed to be their mule for the stuff. Before I could transport it or even decide if I wanted to be a mule, a knock at the door came. Two thugs were there and one had a gun in his hand. They politely asked me to open the door. I refused and before shooting could break out, I heard a beep. Then another, then several...then I opened my eyes to my sweet Geek's drooling face about 6 inches from my own and his alarm (which only ever wakes ME up) going off.

Some days I wish I could record these dreams because, unlike the one above, some are like MOVIES! When the Geek and I first got married I had to catch up on all the Stargate episodes so we could watch them with friends and I wouldn't be lost or have to have things explained to me during the current episodes. Three per night and I was dreaming more at night! I coulda been a great writer for that show.

Gas Crisis in Nashville makes some laugh...News at 11

There has been a shortage of gasoline in Nashville for several weeks now, with insane lines and fights (fights!) at the pumps over who gets gas next. Police and gas station attendants have to shuttle in cars one at a time! It's been crazy. We just stayed home for the weekend and the Geek worked from home yesterday. Last night I ventured out to hang with my Monday night group and found gas for $4.39/gallon, but no lines (@7pm) and filled up the bug which should last us a good week and a half! It only holds about 8 gallons too, so it didn't break the bank. People have really been in a panic about this and this video is a humorous look at the gas crisis, with subtitles. What would we do if the US REALLY had a gas crisis? I personally think people would start getting shivved at the pump.

Blogger won't let me embed it, so here's a link: Gas Crisis

Opinions get you everywhere! tM&tG in print!

The Musician and the Geek made it into print in our local rag called 'The Nashville Scene' in an article called Scooter Blues. I guess all my ranting about Will Hoge in this post came up in google searches. My neighbor Jan's tales of road burn were a focal point of the article as the described her brush with serious injury.

"Interviewed at the scene by Channel 5, Sgt. Bob Sheffield summed up the dilemma scooter and motorcycle riders face every time they buzz into traffic. "I guess the burden of safety is on the motorcycle rider [or] scooter rider," he said. "They are in, I mean, on a much smaller vehicle and, you know, a lot harder for folks in passenger vehicles to observe them."

The comment drew ire on message boards and blogs around town immediately. Local blogger The Musician and the Geek fumed at what she described as a "shining example of tactlessness."

"Too bad Will's thoughtless actions as the 'smaller vehicle' nearly cost him his life!" a post from Aug. 21 read. "Since the 'burden of safety is on the...scooter rider,' I guess it's his own fault that he hit the side of a van!"

But Metro Police Dept. spokesperson Kris Mumford insists Sheffield's message was purely educational. "He simply wanted to say it is important for people on scooters and motorcycles to be aware that they aren't as visible," Mumford says. "It was not his intention at all in any way to blame Mr. Hoge." "

Go here for the entire article. I'm glad scooter issues are getting notice around the city. If I wasn't sportin' a baby belly, we'd have joined the crowd long ago...but how do you strap a car seat to a moped? (answer: you can't.)

A beautiful end to a beautiful day

Shakes, you Rock Star you.

It began with sweet time with my Geek in the afternoon, then off to a lovely picnic (courtesy of one gift card - Thanks Skip and Hilary!) followed by Shakespeare in the Park for a rousing political and stripped bare production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. Which I had never heard of, but did bring about much political discussion between the Geek and myself which then lent itself to spiritual discussion. Such a complex political play! It seemed eerily like the current political atmosphere! How great that something written nearly 400 years ago could continue to be so relevant. The Geek liked all the battle action and fight scenes plus the acting and the political statement it made. (but I imagine the action was high on the list given my sweet Geek likes movies best when things blow up) I liked the complex nature of the plot, plus hating the villans, which Shakespeare always pushes the audience toward so adeptly. The weather was perfect, cool and clear. Some thoughtful person burned a small 'OFF' candle near us and bugs weren't a problem at all. We had comfy camp chairs, a camp table, and lovely dinner, all in the twilight of one of Nashvegas' most lovely parks.

Aside from the little conglomeration of college freshman very nearly acting out Myspace or facebook live in front of us before the show started, it was quite an enjoyable experience! (and even they added to the social commentary) The pre-show band regaled us with 'community dance music from the 1300's to the present.' I loved how the folks behind me labeled them as 'bluegrass.' Hee hee! Such lovely 'new to Nashville' ignorance. I resisted correcting them. Check the band, the Contrarian Ensemble, out here.

Now it is nearing midnight and I am wondering at the wisdom of consuming nearly half of the 'half-gallon bucket' of sweet tea offered by the fried chicken supplier of our picnic. Too much caffeine, I'll bet. However, during a rush on the ladies room, I got a free pass to the front of the line due to 'obvious pregnant belly' proceeding me where ever I go. YAY! The perks are sweet. I'm off to attempt sleep. Hopefully my dinner will wear off soon and I can rest. The Geek's brother is coming tomorrow to stay with us for a week or so, so I fully expect the two of them to geek out the entire time. I may not even see him! (hopefully that won't happen)

Police Mopeds - exception to the rule!

I spotted this on my way to work and had to pull over, stand in the street during morning rush hour and take a picture. It looked like some nerd version of a biker gang, but then I realized they were Police mopeds AND they were parked illegally. (See the 'no parking to corner' sign that they are ALL on the wrong side of?) Hilarious!

The Nashville Scene Vilifies Downtown Dwellers! Film at 11.

The Nashville Scene ran a story this week entitled “Outlawing the Poor: Nashville’s new class war pits the down-and-out against up-and-comers and their powerful allies.” BTW, if you are looking for unbiased press, well, The Scene has never been the place to find that. This free weekly rag is rife with stories about some big bad corporate/industry entity oppressing the little guy. This week’s headline is no different.

Quick Sum up: The new panhandling ordinance (which does not really 'ban' panhandling, only puts limits on it) is affecting the homeless and there has been a crack down on unlawful behavior (trespassing, public drunkenness), leading to fines and the like. But the ‘worst’ offenders of all are the people who want to go to work and home without being harassed on the street or having someone sleep on their door stoop. God forbid! Chock full of fun 'Facts' written with an interesting 'spin'...like this one.

"Metro itself spends a relative pittance—roughly $2 million a year in local tax money—on services for the homeless, mostly to fund a free health clinic and to pay caseworkers in a pilot program helping 35 people find jobs and housing. There are an estimated 2,200 homeless people in Nashville.
At the same time, the city has given $15 million in tax incentives since 2002 to developers building pricey downtown condos. And it would have been more except that Tony Giarratana, who ignited the downtown residential market by building the Viridian in 2006, actually walked away from a $12 million city financing package for his latest project—the 65-story Signature Towers, a posh condo/hotel skyscraper that would rise higher than any building in the Southeast. By rejecting the city’s money, he was relieved of any responsibility to include a few affordable apartments."

Is it me or is $2 million over the last 6 years ($12 million) on homeless services, pretty darn close to $15 million (time line not noted) on tax incentives toward downtown investors? Why write it this way unless it's intended to engender sympathy toward one party over the other? I wonder if the writer of this article lives downtown, or if, like some of the other writers I know at The Scene, he resides in some posh house on a hill in Belle Meade/Bellevue with his opinions and swimming pool.

In 2002 I lived downtown in a 2nd Ave. loft that faced the river. It was a sweet setup. True, there was the bar downstairs (before it moved) that would play live music every night even though my landlord promised me it was only 3 nights or so a week, but by far, it was the best (not to mention coolest place) I’ve lived, to date! (I watched the Cake concert at Dancin' in the District from my windows the night the Thermal Plant burned!) I had a roommate who was about as big as my little finger and we shared the one bedroom apartment We had to park 3 blocks and around the corner away from our building in a lot that became ‘not our lot’ as soon as their was an event. Our monthly parking pass was invalid, for example, on Game Days or for any festival like Fan Fair. It was an act of God to get groceries home, because back then, there was no little Grocery Store near Printers Alley. The closest store was near Metro Center!

I also busked on the streets on weekends and while I frequently was handed a hot plate of food by some well meaning church lady who assumed I was homeless, I also met many people in the mean time, both as I played and when I walked Freckles. There were always the drifters; young hippie type kids who wanted to live ‘off the grid’ i.e., stay gone so long that they could be declared legally dead (7 years) and give up their Social Security number, the drunks and the druggies missing teeth from their crack habit and/or lack of dental hygiene, the harmlessly slow or mentally ill, the scam artists who tried to play me over and over again thinking I wouldn’t remember them. I lived downtown!! I saw them every day! As if I wouldn’t remember that they were once again trying to get some money for gas/ bus fare/ whatever unique thing they had thought of, but was the same story every time. My favorite was the 'dime guy' who asked everyone for a dime. Just a dime…it reminded me of the line from the song ‘Brother, can you spare a dime?” Even the buskers had their spot, their story, their spin. The big black guy with a chair who played like a (very) drunk B.B. King on 2nd Ave, you didn’t go in his territory. Rumor was, he was pulling down $500-$600 per weekend. There were the crazies too, the ones who wandered around yelling to themselves and everyone else, who didn’t want your pity or your money. I was glad for a big dog when they came around.

My roommate (the tiny one), who must have had a sign that said ‘easy target’ stuck on her had people follow her for blocks harassing her, try to push their way into our building at night when she tried to come in the giant (locked) blue front doors. It got to where she would sometimes call and I’d go meet her and let her in so she had ‘backup.’ This was not a good situation.

But my point is, there are no real "bad guys" in this scenario. Just people. Humanity bumping up against each other, and sometimes rubbing each 0ther the wrong way. For me personally, there is something intimidating about someone who is willing to live off the grid. Someone who doesn't have a permanent location where I can send the usual authorities if they hurt me, won’t leave me alone, or try to break in. They live by no rules, and I like rules, like I like walls in my house. They keep out the stuff I don't want, and keep safe the stuff I do.

In those days, on my walks home, I walked like I knew exactly what was going on, striding with my ‘don’t F*%# with me’ stride. Truth be told, as a woman, alone on the city street at night, I was scared, a lot. But, even now, it’s not guilt (as the homeless kid in the article said) I feel when I see them. I'm not having an 'existential crisis,' because I have a car and a bed and they don't. It’s more like staring at a gaping hole in the universe. Here is someone who has lost all connection with family, old friends, education, the world as I know it. 'What brought them here?',' How did they get so lost?', and mostly, 'Could this happen to me and if it did, would anyone notice?' These are the questions I ask.

So...to sum up (with many rabbit trails)
Is limiting panhandling a good thing?
Maybe. It sets up safe boundaries for me to protect myself and not live in fear. I understand it's not convenient, but it's still allowed, just not near bus stops, schools, ATMs, or businesses that don't allow it, and not after dark. Basically at places where people have to/need to be, places that need to be safe, and times that lend themselves to trouble.

Is wanting to feel safe in my own home, or in my own ‘front yard’ (even though it may be a sidewalk) bad?
No. And kudos to those who do something about it! If these people were lounging on someone’s front stoop in any other part of town, asking for money, or to just to sleep there, almost anyone would give them the boot. Why does it make a downtown dweller a 'jerk' to ask for the same thing?

Does there need to be something else in place to help the ones who truly want help?
Definitely. The city of Nashville should have a big part in this, and, I think, eventually will. And for those who choose to live this way, for whatever reason, some rules in how they bump up against humanity are not bad.

Hockey Chicks!

My good friend in the hood, CN, invited me to go to the Women’s Hockey League Open House. Here’s the fun, brought to you in color! It was actually really amusing to learn that I’m not too bad on skates and realized that I really miss playing team sports. It’s too cold for outdoor soccer and I don’t like indoor (I value my limbs), can’t swim right now due to too much swimming and resulting Bursitis in my right shoulder joint (I hate being old), so I need a sport. Perhaps when I have a little extra allowance for skates. They said I could get gear for pretty cheap although used hockey gear may have to live in the basement! Yick! More pics on flickr.

Fairy Tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you bank with us…

So shortly after the New Year I got a cryptic call from my bank and they said I’d won a bike. I did actually put my name in the box to win it, but since I never win anything, I figured, OK…what’s the catch. “No catch!” they said. Hmmm. Still doubtful, I went to get my bike.
They made me wait for an hour or so and then handed me a huge box and a little box. The bike came unassembled! And in the little box was a helmet and a gift card for $50 so I could have it assembled. Humph! I have tools. How hard can it be?
So I put it together. I should say it was not difficult at all, but the wheel was all wonky and had to be taken in to my local bike shop anyway to be trued. But here it is, all green and shiny! The geek says I should keep it pristine and green, but JM (my neighbor) says that I should stick groovy East Nashville stickers all over it. What do you think? BTW, isn’t it very retro? It’s made by Schwinn!

suffering the slings and arrows....stupid puck

A brisk walk through downtown as we headed to the Solmelia Center for the Predators Hockey game was probably the best part of the night tonight on the arm of my big, burly, handsome geek. The Christmas lights were twinkling on the trees around the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and we had found SWEET free parking. It was all downhill from there and I blame my overly competitive nature for that. (sigh) Another thing to let go of if it causes me stress.

After a rousing opening period, the Preds suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, culminating with a goal that skittered the length of the entire rink to gently land in our own undefended goal as we had sent all of our men forward to try and narrow the lead that the Canucks had over us. Even as one of the players nearly sacrificed his life in a effort to prevent it by skating the length of the rink after it, diving and colliding with the post and then wall of the rink. To no avail. It made the score 2 to 5, decidedly not in our favor. Most people walked out at that point, but there were a few more minutes so we stayed 'till the end. I am not even the biggest hockey fan and STILL it burns me up. A bright spot though, we had a small boy behind us during the game that had lots of questions for his mommy that she didn't know the answer to. We supplied most of those details for him, but the best question I overheard was "Mommy, why do they mop the ice?" I love the way kids see things in terms of their own small world! I explained about a Zamboni and he was much impressed. I'm big with the 6 year old crowd.

Back to work tomorrow. This is an all new position for the same large institution type university. I think I'll be answering phones. Fun.

Work, Monday and A.L.C Violations

I despise work. Can't I just be independently wealthy? No? OK.

I had a star studded night at church last night as I looked around and half the people who's music I'd been jamming to this week were sitting in seats around me. Lots to report and not enough time to do it in. 6 am crept up like the Grinch who stole me sleep time and bit me!! I ignored it long enough to make myself late for the bus so I had to skip showering (EWW!!! You say?... Get over it. When I lived in Peru I'd skip showering for days!! It was life risking to stand under the appropriately named 'widow maker' that heated the water...but that's another story.) So, just a quick shiver under the spigot, then flinging myself into clothes, flinging food at the animals (ok, not AT them, but in their bowls) and then running, yes, HAULING down the block to catch the bus. I crossed the street and it crested the hill. Missing the bus would have been bad.

But the bus always affords me great 'copy'. There are all these new and interesting people there and I get to surmise what their lives are about. I'm sure I've got it all wrong, and very often am schooled in reality when they actually open their mouths to talk to me. Still, it's an adventure. I stand out on the bus. Usually the only white person who's pants aren't sagging with my hat on crooked. It's a strange and yet beautiful paradigm. I practice bus knitting and rate the people around me on a scale of A.L.C. For those of you who have not ridden public transit and therefore don't know about A.L.C, I shall explain. A.L.C stands for Acceptable Level of Crazy and if you are on the public transit, it is best to maintain a very tolerable A.L.C for the sake of everyone around you and your personal health. I've never experienced extreme violation of A.L.C, but my friend and neighbor got to watch police officers wrestle a man to the bus floor and forcibly remove him from the vehicle. He was exceeding the A.L.C. for reasons known only to him and the bus driver. Other things rank you in this category too.
For example:

• Talking, muttering, grunting like a Wildabeast (or Yak), or cussing loudly to yourself or at anyone else. I watched a large homeless (and crazy) man yell, no SCREAM, at an old man (a perfect stranger to him) who was waiting for the bus. I have no idea what it was about, but...exceeded the A.L.C.
  
• Touching people when there is plenty of room on the bus.
  
• Telling random strangers your life story while they are forced to sit next to you on their way to the next stop.
  
• Saying in the creepiest way possible "How you doin'." to a strange woman (ME!) at 6 frickin' 32 in the morning.
• I could go on.
  

Lest I put you off public transit, please let me say that these events are spread out over months and at their worst, add bit of spice to my life. The bus system, while it has it's flaws, is FREE for me because of the large Institution Type University I work for and for everyone else, cheaper, MUCH CHEAPER than driving. Plus, I am happy not to drive in rush hour traffic. It's like being chauffeured around! Me and about 20-40 other people, (depending on whether it's one of those double jobbies) but still.

So today, no one exceeded the A.L.C. but, you know, if they had, this post would be even MORE interesting, so who's to say it's an undesirable thing...for the sake of entertainment...

Waxing poetical

Walking to Fido,
the warmth of a mug of tea draws me
down the street.
I am struck by the silence of
the rush hour traffic,
clogging the pavement.
Nothing but the pulsing purr of
hundreds of cars lined up,
headed home.

I wrestle my umbrella from the hands of the wind
Avoiding, the puddle that threatens
to soak my socks through the holes
in my Mary Jane shoes.
The cuff of my pants
dips a finger
in a passing puddle
and flicks
a cold drop on my bare ankle.

The push and pull of this bi
polar autumn continues to
confuse the trees.
The Debutante maples
early to the dance,
showing their orange and red too soon
are now browning wallflowers
to the new crop of girls,
sugar maples flaming and bright.
Too cold to stay green,
to warm to let go,
they held on to their leaves
too long
now they rot and fade brown
on the branch.
Between the scorching
drought of the summer and
the sodden, undecided days of the
coming winter,
more tall hickory trees decide that
it must be spring.
Surely that's the better choice.
Their tender shoots of green
know not
the frozen doom that awaits them.
Shivering like new babies,
naked in the frost.

On the post,
the bright white man light
and the descending third
that repeats its electronic call
tell me it's time to
cross the street.
The light changes red to green
the quiet sea of brake lights
becomes the crashing ocean,
rolling waves on the beach
in passing rubber and wet pavement.
I taste exhaust in my mouth
I breathe through my nose to
filter what makes its way
past my vocal chords.

The delicate chill of the
gust of wind
shakes the rain
from the leaves and
brings a shade of pink to my cheeks,
blushing as though a lover
has caressed them and
brought heat,
not chill
to my face.

The bus squeals its arrival,
the pavement turns to bricks,
the awning up ahead tells me that
warmth,
tea,
and the soothing buzz
of quiet conversation and
carefully chosen
eclectic music
are near and
I can lose myself in a
deep booth and
put pen to paper.

Nashville Chamber Orchestra +Stevie Wonder music +Choir = AWESOME!!

The majority of transient musicians I know are not from around here and thus, don't stick around for the Holidays. This year, we are doing something a little different and are taking a break from holiday traveling. This also means, for the first time, EVER, I'll be here for all of the Nashville Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year hoopla. Plus, I get to sing. I got invited to sing with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra (NCO from here on out...that's a lot of typing)Choir for their Thanksgiving Celebration -- Songs in the Key of Life. For any of you unfamiliar with that title, it belongs to one Stevie Wonder. It was a double album that came out in 1976 (so MANY good things happened to the world that year...like the birth of ME!) and if you think you don't know it, you do. It's been the background to your life and you never even guessed! This was one of the most incredible albums that Stevie put out, the press and the public thought so too and bought it in stacks! But I digress...

The NCO, along with soloist and a gospel choir is performing songs from this album as well as some other pieces for their Thanksgiving Celebration as a part of their 07-08 Adventure Series
and let me tell you, it's gonna be INCREDIBLE!! If you want to attend, here's the skinny:
When: Friday Nov. 23 AND Saturday Nov. 24
Time: 8pm
Cost: Starts at $19 and goes to $69 - SEE P.S.
*Cabaret-style table seating on the main floor, with food and beverage service*
Eat and be cultured!!
Where: Schermerhorn Symphony Center
One Symphony Place
Nashville, Tennessee 37201-2031
map

PS. If you are my friend and live round here, I can get you a discount on levels 1,2 and 3(mid-range pricing, not the cheap seats). Just ask me. You know where I am. BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT SOON!!!

Nashville...but not

Fox had a new show on called Nashville and this weekend, just for kicks, I watched it online. The result was like walking around downtown stoned out of my head! There were all the familiar things about my town put up with all this plastic people and strangeness! What's that show...The Hills on MTV! That's what it reminds me of!! A faux reality TV show!! All this crazy manufactured drama with the HUGEST HAIR I have seen since I moved here from Texas. All the girls on that show, even the "extras" are blond with huge white teeth. They must have gone and culled Graham Central Station on a Saturday night! I was waiting for Fido and other cool places to show up on the screen, but alas, they stuck to the stereotypical places. Key locations I saw were been Loser's (which I've never heard of), the walking bridge, Tootsie's, and lots of drive-bys of downtown, also this apartment complex I have walked by a zillion times on Belmont Blvd! Surreal. About halfway through the first episode, I was thinking "I'm sure how I feel about havin' my town bastardized in this way."

It's a good thing I don't have to wonder about those feelings any more since the show has been taken off the air. I did a little boogie dance when I read those words in the forums. I began reading them when I realized there were only 2 episodes and at this point in the season there should be more posted.

So Nashville's rep was saved by low ratings!