F.A.I.T.H. Jewels: February 2012

Posted January 2012

As some of you are my Facebook and Twitter Friends and Family... You are aware of my recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee, the weekend of New Year's. It was such an amazing trip and I had a wonderful time. If you have never been to Nashville, I suggest you go!

It was a last minute trip. I met up with some friends who had gotten there ahead of me due to my schedule not allowing me to leave as early as they did. We toured the sights, learned about Nashville's history, ate at some great places, and I enjoyed my time spent with them. But you see, when I get alone, I think about things way too much. When all is quiet and I can really think about things I go into overboard mode.

We, as the group of seven, walked around Broadway Street on Friday the 30th of December. This happened to be the Wake Forrest and Mississippi Bowl Game. We learned to check our timing for the next trip. A true lesson learned. The streets were so packed with the football fans, the whistles, the horns, and other game hoopla. The majority of the people were lost in a sea of maroon hats, hoodies, sweatshirts, and other fan supporting attire who were walking blocks if not miles to go watch the pig skin fly! AND I do like football to some degree, so that is just a comment! No need to say I am a sports hater! We even got to see the skydivers parachute in before the game and disappear in the buildings.

Every where you turned, the streets were so crowded you really didn't get to notice the "real" people of Nashville. The game attendees were just temporary visitors just passing through, while the others were permanent residents with no place to go back to for most of them. Even though they did stick out in the crowd in their own way, you didn't think about why they were here. What was their purpose for being in Nashville? They were not the temporary invaders of the streets of Nashville. These were the people who called Nashville's streets home. We had an encounter with a couple of them. One walked around with us for a while talking to us. He was very nice. Didn't ask for anything. He just enjoyed the company and the fact us southern Georgians would acknowledge him.

Saturday, New Years Eve, we had a very exciting day planned! We took the tour of homes for the celebrities around Nashville and Brentwood area. We got to see the fancy houses and estates of Little Jimmy Dickens, Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, as well as others. Some were moderate while some were huge properties. They said Little Jimmy Dickens would come out sometimes and stop the tours to say hello to everyone.

After that was over, we rushed back to our rooms to get dressed as we were headed to The Ryman Auditorium to see Jimmy Wayne on the line up that night. The Ryman is home to The Grand Ole Opry during the winter months. Of course, you know us southerners have got to eat first! We met up with Jimmy Wayne at Puckett's Restaurant for supper before heading to the show. And what an amazing show that was!!! Especially when Jimmy Wayne gives his "friends from Baxley, Georgia" a shout out... It was kinda quiet at the moment and well, I am the voice you hear echoing throughout The Ryman. The "whoohoo" that was heard around the world.... Yep, that would be me.... All of my Twitter and Facebook friends who were listening to the show started posting and tweeting and wondering if that was me and my big mouth. Afterwards it was funny because several people were watching us as they were leaving. One guy stopped with a big ole grin and says "You wouldn't happen to be part of the friends from Georgia would you?" Welllll, "What would ever make you think that?!" as I want to crawl under my seat!!! Why yes, guilty as charged!!!

On Sunday, the others in my group traveled on to North Carolina to chase the snow as a blizzard was... I stayed behind in Nashville to do a little sight seeing of a different kind. I love, love, love to take pictures and nothing has more meaning to me than places with history. An old building that has had several construction add-ons as you can tell because of the style of the bricks and the different patters used to lay the bricks. An old Church with all of the intricate details on the pillars and the exterior wall design that was famous for that era of time. A picture you can look at and just go back into another time period. A place so rich of so many different characteristics and possessions, the pictures can actually talk to you.

This is a building just behind Puckett's Restaurant on Church Street I noticed as I was talking on the phone. You can see the construction work from the different times it was added onto because of the different style of bricks.

I was in the vehicle just looking at the old places as I was on the phone talking about my trip thus far with a very dear friend. Plus, the temperature outside was only 19 degrees and I was almost dreading getting out. As I sat there in this pay to park parking lot, I was able to see all of the passers-by on the side walk in my rear-view mirror. Yes, most were the homeless men of Nashville. There were several that passed by, but only one of them really hit me a little differently...

He was walking alone. A kind of taller fellow. He had on the appropriate clothing to keep him warm in those chilling temperatures. But, what made him different than the others, strapped across his back was a black guitar case. So, I am in Nashville, Tennessee, home to Country Music USA... Just around the block is the home to CMT... What would make this seem on the odd side to me? Well, I guess I figured there would be more like him there.

I continued on with my phone conversation for a few more minutes before I got out to fight the cold and walk the streets where hundreds upon thousands have walked before me. There were some who were just like me, seeing all the sights that I could see so I could come home to tell about it. There were others who had made it to being a household name who had walked the same streets I was walking. I am sure, some spent their time remembering where they came from and what got them here. Even I reminisced on my life's events as I strolled through the streets and local shops fighting the bitter cold.

I toured the Ryman Auditorium. Strolled down all the main sights on 5th Street, 4th Street, 3rd Street, and lastly 2nd Street. I had left this one souvenir shop on the corner of 2nd Street and Broadway. I headed back towards 5th Street to call it a day. As I passed through at a slower pace than before, I really wanted to soak it all in. This would be my last day here and I wanted to make sure I saw everything there was to see. I was able to hear all the bands and singers performing in the various bars and restaurants. As I was walking by one of the venues, lost in another world, the drummer tapped on the window trying to get me to come in and listen to the house band. All these different bands were there to live out their dream. You see they had graduated from playing on the streets trying to get the one big break to take them some where else. They loved playing music and that was their passion. It was not a job to them because they could not think of themselves doing anything different with their lives than what they were doing now.

As I got closer towards the ending of my walk, there was this older gentleman who you could tell had lived a hard life. It was shown by the wrinkles on his face. He was leaning with his back against the wall. One leg perched out to hold his guitar as he played. There he stood on the corner, picking and singing his heart out.. In front of him was the black guitar case he had passed by me with just hours before as I watched from the rear view. It was laying there on the ground waiting for someone to drop some tips in. And of course I did! How many others had really started out like this?

But yet he seemed to be the poorest of the people I had seen. I guess because he was older than most I had made eye contact with. I was fully aware and I knew he was homeless. As I walked away, he left me with a deep thought...

I wondered how long he had been standing on the streets of Nashville waiting, hoping, and dreaming of that one big break to come walking along the side walk in front of him. He had enough faith and belief in himself to be unmovable in his dream he was going to be singing on the stage of the sacred Opry Stage no matter how long it took. He stood firm on his street corner just singing, picking, smiling, and nodding as to say "hello and thank you" as folks left him a tip. He could have only been there just that one day... But yet, he could have been there for twenty years. Every day making the same journey to the place on the corner with the one possession he had never left behind strapped to his back as he walked. The one thing that was going to help him get where he thought he was going. He left everything and everyone to pursue what he had enough of a passion for to live his dream... He walked away from a life as he had known for years, to try and try and try on a daily basis to make it a reality.

But he is living his dream.. This is his desire and his passion... Playing and singing in Music City USA!!! It is not a dream he can live for someone else. This belongs to him way down deep in his heart and his soul.

I could almost say he is richer than some of us... We sit back and never take the time to take the chance to achieve our dream. We are too afraid of taking the first step. Just goes to show you, if you have a true desire and a true passion for something, what people say and think about you will never make you change your course.

How far will you go to go after that dream????

Here are some other pictures taken from that day..... Too bad I didn't get him in any of the photos...

You will notice there is a homeless guy sitting on the steps of this building. I had no idea there was a photo showing a gentleman. This is not the one I wrote about, but just represents a story himself.