Well, as it is likely I won't get a chance at this thing until after I am home, some reactions to Nashville and it's folks. Being here for Eric Bryan & Emily Baldwin's (now Mrs. Eric Bryan-whoo-hoo!) wedding was wonderful. This man means more to me than any other man. I cried twice: once when I called to tell him I could not afford to come, once when I called to tell him I was coming anyway. Emily, I look forward to getting to know you as well as I do Eric...OK, almost as well... Kenny Hutson and Katy Bowser, you made a place for me in your home and more importantly made me feel at home. Kenny, I've known you for some time now and I am so happy you have found a woman as wonderful and talented as you are. (Both are musicians of a particular caliber. Kenny can be found here, since I know of no website, and Katy here check them out, you won't regret it!) The groomsmen, including Rob, Casey, and Matt-love you guys, thanks for the good times this week as well as past and future. This goes double for the rest of the wedding party, particularly the parents of the bride and groom. Damn, I wish I'd met them sooner! Again, Dr. Scott Baldwin and Mrs. Andrea (Andy) Baldwin. It is not fair that life gives us so short a time to spend with such great people. Nate and Hannah too. I do so hope to see you all again soon. Brent, for also putting me up for the tail of my stay (and offering to lend me his car-brave man!) And all of the other wonderful people I have met, re-met, gotten to know or know better, and forgotten to mention. It is you all that made this trip such a pleasure for me.

Some snippets from my walk to the cafe: I just sit, nursing a coffee for hours until I find something with edges sharp enough to stick to paper. _____ I am in a land that seems dedicated to God and Country (music) _____ The conversation should not be about our choice of religion. Rather, it should be about our spirituality, or lack thereof. The church is just another idol we have erected, an edifice of rules and laws ostensibly intended to ease our path - point the way to God, if you will. Instead, it just blocks our view of the truly divine.

While I've been sitting here, this lovely person (who was here to ask about putting her photos up inside) sat down and conversed with me while I perused here photo album. In the end, she gave me one of my choice and asked me to look her up if I ever came back to Nashville (she wanted me to see the arboretum and I told her I didn't have time this trip) She has a website (for now, as I hear yahoo is dismantling their photo service) here this is the one I chose: Sappy as it sounds, it made me think of my wife. The thought process went something like: "I really like this one, Ivy will like it too." Sentimental, yeah, so what?!?! Anyway, just another random meeting down here that has somehow impacted my life. I hope she sees this and knows the conversation was appreciated.

Well, woof...it's been almost a month without a post and I've been slowly regaining my sanity. Apologies for anyone who actually takes the time to read this tripe. ;) I am in Nashville right now, sitting at this nice little cafe called Sam & Zoe's. Nice little place. Of course, I smoke, so I'm sitting on the deck (ugh...forgot how HOT it is down here!) and I caught this image that has stuck with me, here's what it has become: Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Mockingbird. A bird with no song of its own, it samples and adapts what it hears around it, be it other birds, cars, radios, or conversations. From this, it creates a melody exquisite and tragic singing: “I have no words of my own but listen, love, still, I am calling. In the evening, they fill the shrubbery with their beautiful loneliness. During the day, they compete with other birds for food and completion. Somewhere, there is another, who hears as I do. Outside my apartment there is one who has learned my neighbor’s car alarm. I suspect he sets it off himself occasionally to double-check the pitch and rhythm. Prolific in the South, none pay them heed. Just another drab little noisemaker. I cannot help but hear I cannot ignore another poet. At the café there is one who sits on a newsstand and sings the headlines. Surely there is a lady out there who is so enamored of the world.