Tennessee!
Here I am in Nashville where I have done the following when I wasn't at the conference: decided that I really to learn to play the fiddle, went to Tootsies on Broadway, where I made friends with a cute 29-year-old who helped me observe and comment on the actions on the dance floor, and danced (actually more like got swung around) with a very drunk, very bald guy from Fort Something in Kentucky.
Never have listened to country music, now I am a fan. Some of it a little on the sad side, but a lot of it happy and rockin'.
People here are so nice. Slow, but nice. One lady in the store called me Sweet Girl, everyone calls me Ma'am, pretty sure it's a respect thing.
The Grand Ole Opry not what I expected at all, lots of acts, having fun, playing on a live radio show, with a live radio announcer reading commercials. The CherrySomethings (I cannot remember the name) were so good! A family with a dad with a big long beard and one of the girls playing the fiddle, the wife wearing clogs and dancing.
Ate yummy ribs and yucky peppery coleslaw at a little dive rib joint, because Jack's BBQ is closed on Sundays.
Line of the night: One of the guys we were with ordered the Hogs Plate, which consists of ribs, chicken wings, kielbesa, pickles and cheese. He also asked for a salad. The waiter commented , "you must be hungry!"
"OK, forget the salad," he said.
A fun trip with good people and a good conference in Nashville, where it's a whole different way of life than I'm used to... that's for sure.
The whole entire time, the Arrested Development song "Tennessee" was running through my head, every now and then interspersed with "Graceland" by Paul Simon.