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Back to the title of “Roll On” made me think of the Terri Hendrix song entitle the same. However the song is more a metaphorical “Roll On” than the literal. On the same album (Cry Till You Laugh) is the song “Take Me Places” and that song is a lot like what we are doing on our trip.

Take me to Mexico
Wake me up in Singapore
Maybe we could see Morocco
Take me where I’ve never been before

…………

Take me somewhere exotic
Far away
To a distant shore
A quiet beach could be hypnotic
Take me where I’ve never been before

Although the lyrics lead more to a need for escape I think it works for what we are doing. I traveled within the state of Texas as a kid, mostly within a few hours of home. I didn’t leave the state of Texas until I was 21 years old. At 6 and 7 years old the boys have been to more states than I had by the time I was 30. That is cool. They’ve seen things some grown adults have never seen – the Grand Canyon, a sunset over the Missisisippi River, the mountains of Colorado, etc. I love traveling with the boys, minus the in car fights (which have been very few this trip) and the having to get them to sleep while we are trying to watch tv or relax in the hotel room, it’s awesome. I am really looking forward to all the beach time and fun stuff we’ll get to do this coming week. Photos out of my camera and not my iPhone coming soon!

These boys love their daddy (plain, simple and to the point). They ask for him to come into their room every night at bedtime, well except for one night last week when he had scared the begeezers out of them by quietly standing in the bathtub all Freddy the 13th like. They didn’t ask for him that night. Mostly because he thought scaring the pants of them was hilarious (a Revenge of the Nerds type of laugh hilarious), a view they obviously did not share. They sit on top next to of him on the couch when we watch tv as a family, follow him like attached little shadows when he wonders out to his shop, and basically think he’s the cooler one. That’s because he lets them try to stay up until midnight, or spend a Friday night playing video games, and takes them to see cool movies. Let’s be clear, I am apparently NOT cool, but their daddy is. He also drives a really cool jeep, and me, well I drive a Mini-Van. We could go on but I’ll spare myself.

Never has anyone looked better wearing the title of daddy, no one could be a better daddy to these two boys, and to quote Judy Garland “I’ve got my man who could ask for anything more?”

And that, that’s tame for Mr. Bear. I’m afraid to let my boys watch his show, next thing I know they’ll be rounding up the scorpions and cooking them in a frying pan for extra “protein”. Speaking of scorpions, I found a baby one, alive and kicking in the kitchen yesterday just inches away from my barefoot and promptly trapped it in a 1/2 cup measuring cup. I asked my husband to please kill it and take care of it, yet again (note I say again here) he felt the need to “play” with. He shook it up and really ticked it off, “We used to pinch off the tail stinger then drop them on people to scare them as kids”. If he ever does that to me he’ll be pushing up daises. Then he says something like he feels the need to be macho like Bear. Huh? “Yeah when I was 20 I did stuff like that all the time (ie. showing off), but then in my 30′s I didn’t need to do that anymore. Now that I’m a dad and I have two boys I feel the need to be cool again and show them that kind of stuff”. Okay, so I’m summarizing but that was pretty much the gist of that conversation. And he wonders why I have dreams of being attacked by scorpions or snakes taking over our house. He’s like a twisted version of Dr. DoLittle and he’s not allowed to watch anymore “Man vs. Wild”…..

I’ve been to Nashville, for that matter I’ve been to Memphis too. Both places I said I’d go back to and spend more time there. I’ve seen a Friday night performance of the Grand Ole Opry, which was by the way absolutely grand. I stayed at a very nice hotel a mere few blocks from the Gaylord Opry Land Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry itself. I wandered around the Garylord hotel and sat at a rotating bar before walking over to the where the Opry takes place. No longer in the Ryman Auditorium (although they do have the center piece of the stage from the orginial Ryman in the new one) the Grand Old Opry is still a lot like it was in the 1930′s. I have to think that playing the Opry for most musicians is still something they get nervous about, even if it’s just a little bit and even if they says it’s excitement not nerves.  Spending less than 24hrs there in Nashville I would’ve never imagined where I was could have flooded at all, non the less a staggering two feet above the stage. Submersing the six foot circle of original oak stage from the Ryman where legends like Hank Williams and Patsy Cline stood and sang and a vast majority of the seats in the auditorium.  Devastating if you ask me. Not to mention the damage to the rest of Nashville itself.

The flooding, which has NEVER happened in Nashville to this level got hardly any news time and was mentioned in almost a passing fashion. Sure I understand we have a much bigger ecological issue on our hands and hundreds of thousands of peoples livelihoods will be affected (thanks BP)… but I think that the people of Nashville have reacted and acted with such class, neighbors helping each other without a second thought. Self reliant and determined, Nashville just proves itself to be a great city. Even if you’re not a country music fan, this is part of our history, the history of America, that if you ask me is news worthy.

Photo Credit: Jeff Roberson, AP

The area in the back right hand corner is parking lot, the largest building is the Opry auditorium itself.