Nashville TN
Never been to Nashville before, hell, I’ve never been in Tennessee. Oops, let me correct that, I did drive through it with a friend in 1967 on my way from San Diego to Buffalo. This is an example of how memory fails and fools us sometimes.
It’s interesting how memories are subject to be corrected and updated when meeting with another who was involved in the events that created the memory. And this trip to visit Neal Nadler, a USMC flying buddy who shared a nighttime rescue flight with me on the side of Mount Fuji, updated a memory that was vivid in a few details, totally incorrect in some, and vague in others.
The ride from MD through VA and into TN was eye opening with the gradual change in geography, the hills and then mountains, the climbing and descending roads winding through the forests, and ‘smoke’ was visible in the valleys signaling the arrival of the Smokey Mountains.
First stop was at Pigeon Forge to get a H-D Tshirt from TN. Young lady there, Rachel, assisted me in finding the perfect pinup. She commented on how a customer said the pinup girl on the shirt looked like here. Actually, Rachel was a lot cuter J …probably should’ve said that to her but didn’t think of it at the time L. When I charged it and showed my CA driver’s license it turned out that she grew up in Huntington Beach…so we reminisced a little. The real nice part about this dealership (besides gorgeous young ladies) is that they offer a 10% discount to military. Nice!
It was great visiting with Neal and his lovely wife Liz. They both have had interesting and successful lives. Neal is now a PhD and owns a consulting practice while Liz is with South West Airlines flying around the USA (which is almost as good as Harleying around the USA :). Here's a pic of us infront of ther Lil' 4000 square foot cottage nestled in the country south of Nashville.
Since Liz was scheduled for a flight on Wednesday, she decided to take us to
the stables on Tuesday. The stables are located in Smyma, south of Nashville, where she cares for an abandoned horse named “Moon” she has adopted.While there we met some great folks, Shirley and Slim who own the stables, Deborah who manages the stables, Tom, Rhonda and Patti who have horses there (Rhonda is also with SWA). I got the chance to meet about four of the horses and pet them, feed them apples, look them in the eye, and occasionally get an affectionate nuzzlin’. One of them is a Tennessee Walker, another was a show horse….and he posed non-stop…the boy knew what to do when admiring eyes focused on him. Adding to the thrill was the arrival of four mares out in the pasture that came to the fence to get some attention. Each was beautiful in shape, color and exuberant attitude, and an absolute joy to watch!
The final thrill, sitting on the stable veranda and chattin it up with 3 guys and five ladies , was getting a sip of moonshine! Wow…it was absolutely smooth….and tasty! Rhonda and Tom had brought an apple spice moonshine and a cherry moonshine, which was actually full of cherries!. The ‘shine was jarred (as in ‘preserves’) which added to the fun of holding a jar, twisting the large cap off, then taking a sip.
On the last day before departure Neal and I hung out at a local Creperie for lunch and coffee and discussed the details of our nighttime rescue of a Marine at the base camp of Mt. Fuji. This is where I discovered how faulty my memory is in regard to some details but yet how sharp it was on other visual details. Fortunately I have not written about the adventure before reconnecting with Neal. Now I’ll write it with less embellishment and have Neal edit it….should make it more factual. Oh hell, what fun is that…I think I’ll embellish, invite Neal to embellish, and by the end we should both be real legends in each other’s eyes J.
Neal and I liked the creperie so much that we decided to have my departure breakfast there the next morning. It was here while enjoying breakfast and conversation with Neal that I made an interesting observation….the ladies and men coming into the creperie were unusually tall. Each of them seemed to be over 6 feet tall, as in 6’2” or better. My curiosity got the best of me and I went to refill my cup when one of the young ladies was filling her cup…holy mackerel, she was around 6’4”! I had to arch my neck the whole time to look into people’s faces.
Is it the crepes?? Or the TN water that is making these kids so tall??
Not sure what the cause could be, but I drank a glass of water after finishing my crepes….wonder if it’ll do any good?
C ya mañana
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
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