Showing posts with label Nashville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nashville. Show all posts
Thursday, May 13, 2010
We Are Nashville
Ben made this video to encourage more volunteers for flood victims. Proud of him and proud of all the work that has already been done by loving hands in this city! If you want to help, visit Hands On Nashville for volunteer opportunities and Nashvillest for updates on other ways you can give back.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
When You Pass Through The Waters
If you don't live in Nashville, you might not even know about what happened to us here. I know a lot of other important national news has happened over the past few days. But in the meantime, our city was drowning.
It started raining on Saturday morning, before the sun came up - although, to be fair, the sun never really showed. Saturday afternoon the onslaught of flash flood warnings became rapid reality. The mild-mannered Mill Creek, which runs right past our neighborhood, became a vast, angry river, overtaking roads, bridges, homes, and even interstate 24. Piles of cars sank under the water, and a building wrenched from the ground floated down the highway until the water tore it to pieces.
This type of flooding happened all over middle Tennessee on Saturday as the rains kept coming. Across the street, we watched the creek - not even usually visible from our house - rise and rush through neighbors' backyards, giving our community temporary lakeside status. It engulfed our common ground, leaving just the tops of the gazebo and swingset visible. We found the other playground set half in a tree the next day.
We feel incredibly blessed to have remained safe and dry. The inconvenience of being trapped in our neighborhood for a few days was nothing in comparison to the damages sustained elsewhere. The first wave of flooding in creeks and other small waterways around town peaked on Saturday. But it kept raining, heavy, ceaseless rain, until Sunday night. And when it finally stopped raining, the swollen creeks dumped their waters into swollen rivers and the rivers just kept rising. The sun was shining as the Cumberland River, which wraps itself around downtown Nashville, crept into the heart of our city. It finally crested at almost 52 feet, a full 12 feet above flood stage. The damage was beyond done, with muddy flood waters seeping into some of our most precious institutions.
The beautiful Schermerhorn Symphony hall had water throughout the basement, soaking and possibly ruining the $2.5 million organ. Both LP Field, home of the Titans, and Bridgestone Arena, home of the Predators, were affected.
Just down the river, the vast complex of the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills mall were flooded, forcing evacuation of the hotel's guests. It is possible they might not reopen for months.
And in news that was a particularly painful blow for all of Music City, one of the last places reported flooded was the beloved Grand Ole Opry House. I walked this building annually when GMA held the Dove Awards here, and the stage is essentially sacred ground for all of country music.
So a really terrible thing happened to our city this weekend. More terrible than the two-minute blurbs on CNN and MSNBC and FOX News have let on. The death toll is nearly 30 and rising as waters recede and tragedies are uncovered. Thousands have lost their homes and vehicles, and the very heart of our city's business has been seriously affected. Many are still without power, and flooding at one of two main water treatment plants has put the entire county's water supply in crisis. We are in a mandatory water conservation situation as water reserves are rapidly being depleting.
But something wonderful has also happened here, as people and organizations have gone above and beyond to help. As I read updates today, I was totally overwhelmed with love for this city and the people in it. Volunteer opportunities were filled within minutes of being posted, money was raised and funds matched, concerts and benefits organized... to take care of each other in this soggy hour is something special.
Though I don't know if they'll ever read it, I wanted to say a special thanks to the ladies of Nashvillest. Since the water started to rise, they were (and continue to be) an amazing invaluable resource. Their blog is a wealth of information on how anyone can help, and the links, stories, and pictures will move you to do so. Also, Twitter was literally a lifeline during this tragedy, in a truly revolutionary way. People in need were connected with helpers, vital information about roads and danger zones was communicated instantaneously... seriously remarkable.
And finally, and most importantly, God is still God here. I pray that the followers of Christ here in Nashville will rise up in an awesome way, to glorify God by advancing His kingdom here in the midst of tragedy. I can't think of a more appropriate ending than these verses from Isaiah 43:
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
It started raining on Saturday morning, before the sun came up - although, to be fair, the sun never really showed. Saturday afternoon the onslaught of flash flood warnings became rapid reality. The mild-mannered Mill Creek, which runs right past our neighborhood, became a vast, angry river, overtaking roads, bridges, homes, and even interstate 24. Piles of cars sank under the water, and a building wrenched from the ground floated down the highway until the water tore it to pieces.
This type of flooding happened all over middle Tennessee on Saturday as the rains kept coming. Across the street, we watched the creek - not even usually visible from our house - rise and rush through neighbors' backyards, giving our community temporary lakeside status. It engulfed our common ground, leaving just the tops of the gazebo and swingset visible. We found the other playground set half in a tree the next day.
We feel incredibly blessed to have remained safe and dry. The inconvenience of being trapped in our neighborhood for a few days was nothing in comparison to the damages sustained elsewhere. The first wave of flooding in creeks and other small waterways around town peaked on Saturday. But it kept raining, heavy, ceaseless rain, until Sunday night. And when it finally stopped raining, the swollen creeks dumped their waters into swollen rivers and the rivers just kept rising. The sun was shining as the Cumberland River, which wraps itself around downtown Nashville, crept into the heart of our city. It finally crested at almost 52 feet, a full 12 feet above flood stage. The damage was beyond done, with muddy flood waters seeping into some of our most precious institutions.
The beautiful Schermerhorn Symphony hall had water throughout the basement, soaking and possibly ruining the $2.5 million organ. Both LP Field, home of the Titans, and Bridgestone Arena, home of the Predators, were affected.
Just down the river, the vast complex of the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills mall were flooded, forcing evacuation of the hotel's guests. It is possible they might not reopen for months.
And in news that was a particularly painful blow for all of Music City, one of the last places reported flooded was the beloved Grand Ole Opry House. I walked this building annually when GMA held the Dove Awards here, and the stage is essentially sacred ground for all of country music.
So a really terrible thing happened to our city this weekend. More terrible than the two-minute blurbs on CNN and MSNBC and FOX News have let on. The death toll is nearly 30 and rising as waters recede and tragedies are uncovered. Thousands have lost their homes and vehicles, and the very heart of our city's business has been seriously affected. Many are still without power, and flooding at one of two main water treatment plants has put the entire county's water supply in crisis. We are in a mandatory water conservation situation as water reserves are rapidly being depleting.
But something wonderful has also happened here, as people and organizations have gone above and beyond to help. As I read updates today, I was totally overwhelmed with love for this city and the people in it. Volunteer opportunities were filled within minutes of being posted, money was raised and funds matched, concerts and benefits organized... to take care of each other in this soggy hour is something special.
Though I don't know if they'll ever read it, I wanted to say a special thanks to the ladies of Nashvillest. Since the water started to rise, they were (and continue to be) an amazing invaluable resource. Their blog is a wealth of information on how anyone can help, and the links, stories, and pictures will move you to do so. Also, Twitter was literally a lifeline during this tragedy, in a truly revolutionary way. People in need were connected with helpers, vital information about roads and danger zones was communicated instantaneously... seriously remarkable.
And finally, and most importantly, God is still God here. I pray that the followers of Christ here in Nashville will rise up in an awesome way, to glorify God by advancing His kingdom here in the midst of tragedy. I can't think of a more appropriate ending than these verses from Isaiah 43:
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Observations from a Long Drive
Yesterday I drove myself home from St. Louis to Nashville. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and I had a good six hours to myself. Well, Scruffy was in the car with me but he's not much for conversation. So I listened to all the music I wanted to and came up with some very random observations which I will share with you now.
***
1. Heartland
There is something really spectacular about rolling fields of wheat and corn and how it all glows and moves under fall sun and wind. Green and gold and brown, just folding out in squares across the landscape, dotted with a farm here, a little pond there...
When my sister was younger, she had this fascination with running in a field. Every time we passed an open pasture area she would sigh and say how she wished Dad would stop the car so she could just go run in that field. Yesterday, driving under an open sky of brilliant blue and through the beauty of the American Heartland, I totally know what she meant.
2. Airheads
I really love Airheads candy. This is odd because I am not a fan of fruity candies usually, and I don't really like taffy or anything like that. But I love Airheads. I could eat about a hundred red ones and still want more.
3. "Stand By Me," sung by Ben E. King
I decided after listening to it for the millionth time that "Stand By Me" is one of the greatest love songs ever. It is utterly simple - the words, the instrumentation, the structure. But good grief is it romantic - and even a little sexy, with the "bum, bum, ba-da bum bum" rhythm. Stand by me, no matter what else happens, and we'll be okay. Man, that's good stuff.
4. National Dead Deer Weekend?
I don't know what the deal was, but yesterday I saw probably - no exaggeration - more than 15 deer and/or partial deer carcasses lining the highway across my 300 mile drive. In my nearly eight years of driving back and forth between Nashville and STL I have never experienced this. One dead deer laying by the side of the road, unpleasant but it happens. But halves of deers and decapitated deers and bloody smears formerly known as deers... ugh. It got to be really gross and had me wondering what was going on with the deer population's sudden and tragic love affair with my particular stretch of highway?!
5. Vampire Weekend
I had Ben load their much-ballyhooed debut album up on my iPod and around Paducah decided to have a listen...
I give them an "A" for interesting instrumentation and a creative different sound. I give them a C- for how much I actually liked the album. I listened to at least 30-seconds of every track... unfortunately it was often because I could only stand 30 seconds at a time. After the hundredth repetition of a kooky staccato riff I just couldn't take it any more. I did like some of the string sections.
6. Cello
The cello is my all-time favorite instrument. It is so powerfully emotive - subtle, almost an undercurrent in many songs, but totally shouldering the weight of moving and feeling. Fun fact: my husband Ben played the cello for seven years growing up. Even now when he plays guitar he moves his fingers like he is playing the cello. But, despite the fact that it is my favorite thing, despite years of begging, he has never once played the cello for me. He claims he doesn't remember. I think he is a big fat mean liar.
7. How Did I Get to Be So Old
At the wedding I was in this weekend, we reminisced about how the couple had gone to the Homecoming dance together our freshman year of high school. I was stunned when someone mentioned, "Who would've thought eleven years ago we'd be here now celebrating their wedding." Woah woah woah. Do you mean to tell me it has been ELEVEN YEARS since I was a high school freshman?!!?! (Silent mental calculations...) But that means... I. Am. Old.
I thought about that for a good while in the car. Being a grown up. Shudder.
8. Names
I think it is cute when girls named Charlotte are called Charlie. I'm thinking of using it in a story I'm writing.
***
And that, my dear readers, is a glimpse into what I think about and do while on a solo six hour car ride. Fascinating, I know.
***
1. Heartland
There is something really spectacular about rolling fields of wheat and corn and how it all glows and moves under fall sun and wind. Green and gold and brown, just folding out in squares across the landscape, dotted with a farm here, a little pond there...
When my sister was younger, she had this fascination with running in a field. Every time we passed an open pasture area she would sigh and say how she wished Dad would stop the car so she could just go run in that field. Yesterday, driving under an open sky of brilliant blue and through the beauty of the American Heartland, I totally know what she meant.
2. Airheads
I really love Airheads candy. This is odd because I am not a fan of fruity candies usually, and I don't really like taffy or anything like that. But I love Airheads. I could eat about a hundred red ones and still want more.
3. "Stand By Me," sung by Ben E. King
I decided after listening to it for the millionth time that "Stand By Me" is one of the greatest love songs ever. It is utterly simple - the words, the instrumentation, the structure. But good grief is it romantic - and even a little sexy, with the "bum, bum, ba-da bum bum" rhythm. Stand by me, no matter what else happens, and we'll be okay. Man, that's good stuff.
4. National Dead Deer Weekend?
I don't know what the deal was, but yesterday I saw probably - no exaggeration - more than 15 deer and/or partial deer carcasses lining the highway across my 300 mile drive. In my nearly eight years of driving back and forth between Nashville and STL I have never experienced this. One dead deer laying by the side of the road, unpleasant but it happens. But halves of deers and decapitated deers and bloody smears formerly known as deers... ugh. It got to be really gross and had me wondering what was going on with the deer population's sudden and tragic love affair with my particular stretch of highway?!
5. Vampire Weekend
I had Ben load their much-ballyhooed debut album up on my iPod and around Paducah decided to have a listen...
I give them an "A" for interesting instrumentation and a creative different sound. I give them a C- for how much I actually liked the album. I listened to at least 30-seconds of every track... unfortunately it was often because I could only stand 30 seconds at a time. After the hundredth repetition of a kooky staccato riff I just couldn't take it any more. I did like some of the string sections.
6. Cello
The cello is my all-time favorite instrument. It is so powerfully emotive - subtle, almost an undercurrent in many songs, but totally shouldering the weight of moving and feeling. Fun fact: my husband Ben played the cello for seven years growing up. Even now when he plays guitar he moves his fingers like he is playing the cello. But, despite the fact that it is my favorite thing, despite years of begging, he has never once played the cello for me. He claims he doesn't remember. I think he is a big fat mean liar.
7. How Did I Get to Be So Old
At the wedding I was in this weekend, we reminisced about how the couple had gone to the Homecoming dance together our freshman year of high school. I was stunned when someone mentioned, "Who would've thought eleven years ago we'd be here now celebrating their wedding." Woah woah woah. Do you mean to tell me it has been ELEVEN YEARS since I was a high school freshman?!!?! (Silent mental calculations...) But that means... I. Am. Old.
I thought about that for a good while in the car. Being a grown up. Shudder.
8. Names
I think it is cute when girls named Charlotte are called Charlie. I'm thinking of using it in a story I'm writing.
***
And that, my dear readers, is a glimpse into what I think about and do while on a solo six hour car ride. Fascinating, I know.
Friday, April 11, 2008
TUNA! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Last night, after a nearly five-month long hiatus, my favorite funny show returned to television: "The Office." Piled on our couches with our friends Jon, Heather, Grant, and Lila, we basked in the golden glow of our television set. We squealed (and then shushed each other) as the cold open began with all our favorite characters milling around their nondescript office area. We groaned and covered our faces in horror as Michael and Jan's disturbing relationship took a turn into painfully and awesomely awkward before their dinner guests' very eyes. We howled with delight as Dwight showed up with his straight-from-the-19th century former babysitter and explained their relationship as "strictly carnal."
Jim so desparate to leave that he nearly ditched Pam.
Serenity by Jan candles.
Michael's attempts at Charades.
The Dundee hurtled from Jan's insane hands into Michael's precious tiny plasma tv.
And then, AND THEN, AND SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU KIDDING ME:
"Hi, Dan here with your channel 4 Pinpoint Weather Alert. If you'll take a look with me here at Macon County up in Kentucky, you'll see some pretty serious storm clouds... now this spinning area on the radar is where we've had one person, excuse me, two eyes, (yeah, he seriously said that) that have spotted what may have been a funnel cloud formation."
So, let me get this straight, Dan from Channel 4. You interrupted the final minutes of my favorite show for this?! First of all, do the people in Kentucky not have their own weather people that could tell them this? Second of all, if it is, in fact, as bad as you are saying, then those people probably don't have power and can't watch you giving this report anyway. Third and most importantly, there was a commercial break THIRTY FREAKIN' SECONDS AGO... you couldn't have done this then?
It wouldn't have been so bad, honestly - I know it is their job - except he just kept going ON and ON. We were ten minutes into "Scrubs" by the time he finally wrapped it up. I could've given that report in about 15 seconds:
"Okay everyone, listen up. Look at this map. See all these red parts right here? Right, if you're in one of those, sorry, but it doesn't look too good. Get in your closets or basements (too bad no houses in the South even HAVE basements) or bathrooms right now. Folks in Bumpus Mills, PeeDee, Stringtown, Hackberry*, this means you. Now sit tight and I'll be back at the next commercial break."
*Names of REAL towns on the Kentucky/Tennessee border
See, would that have been so hard, DAN? Hmm? But nooooo, because of you and your great affinity for all your meteorologist technology, and because of Nashville's general tendency to freak the ef out any time it looks like it might rain hard, I don't know what happened once the cops showed up outside Michael's door. Did they take Jan off in the back of a squad car? Did Dwight pull out his spud gun in defense? Did Pam get back at Jim for trying to ditch her? Did Andy actually invest in Jan's candle company? I'll never know...
...until I watch it again online later today.
Jim so desparate to leave that he nearly ditched Pam.
Serenity by Jan candles.
Michael's attempts at Charades.
The Dundee hurtled from Jan's insane hands into Michael's precious tiny plasma tv.
And then, AND THEN, AND SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU KIDDING ME:
"Hi, Dan here with your channel 4 Pinpoint Weather Alert. If you'll take a look with me here at Macon County up in Kentucky, you'll see some pretty serious storm clouds... now this spinning area on the radar is where we've had one person, excuse me, two eyes, (yeah, he seriously said that) that have spotted what may have been a funnel cloud formation."
So, let me get this straight, Dan from Channel 4. You interrupted the final minutes of my favorite show for this?! First of all, do the people in Kentucky not have their own weather people that could tell them this? Second of all, if it is, in fact, as bad as you are saying, then those people probably don't have power and can't watch you giving this report anyway. Third and most importantly, there was a commercial break THIRTY FREAKIN' SECONDS AGO... you couldn't have done this then?
It wouldn't have been so bad, honestly - I know it is their job - except he just kept going ON and ON. We were ten minutes into "Scrubs" by the time he finally wrapped it up. I could've given that report in about 15 seconds:
"Okay everyone, listen up. Look at this map. See all these red parts right here? Right, if you're in one of those, sorry, but it doesn't look too good. Get in your closets or basements (too bad no houses in the South even HAVE basements) or bathrooms right now. Folks in Bumpus Mills, PeeDee, Stringtown, Hackberry*, this means you. Now sit tight and I'll be back at the next commercial break."
*Names of REAL towns on the Kentucky/Tennessee border
See, would that have been so hard, DAN? Hmm? But nooooo, because of you and your great affinity for all your meteorologist technology, and because of Nashville's general tendency to freak the ef out any time it looks like it might rain hard, I don't know what happened once the cops showed up outside Michael's door. Did they take Jan off in the back of a squad car? Did Dwight pull out his spud gun in defense? Did Pam get back at Jim for trying to ditch her? Did Andy actually invest in Jan's candle company? I'll never know...
...until I watch it again online later today.
Monday, November 26, 2007
I can die now.
Me. Garth Brooks. In the same room.
Where: Schermerhorn Symphony Hall, Nashville, TN
When: November 26, 2007, apx. 10:00 pm
What: Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
And now I can die.
Okay, just kidding about the dying part, but NOT just kidding about what a momentous occasion it was for me. I have loved Garth Brooks and his music since I was a little girl growing up in Oklahoma. I literally used to cry when he would come to town and my parents wouldn't take me to see his concert because we couldn't afford it, and because it probably wasn't the ideal atmosphere for a 7 year old.
Much to my chagrin, by the time I was old enough to take myself to a Garth show, he wasn't exactly touring any more. At all. Ever. At some point he retired, really retired, from the biz and settled down with Miss Trisha Yearwood and lived on his farm in Yukon, OK and left fans like me with less than a glimmer of hope that we might ever see him again.
Just this past month Garth played eight sold-out nights of shows in Kansas City, the first time he'd been on stage in that sense in many years... and I missed that too. By the time I found out about it, tickets were being scalped on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
So today, when my friend Carolyn shot me an email and said she had some tickets to this random thing tonight and Garth was supposedly one of the presenters/performers and did I want to go, the answer was a resounding "Ef yes!"
The whole night ended up being an amazing experience of music and I want to write more on that later, but for now I'll just say that Garth was there, and he performed Elvis Presley's hit "Suspicious Minds" and it was fantabulous and I'll never forget it... how Carolyn and I clutched each others hands as we saw his trademark cowboy hat appear stage left, how he respectfully doffed said hat as the musicians he was honoring took the stage, how he grabbed Creed (yes, that Creed, from "The Office") and they sang gleefully into the mic together... seriously, it was so great!
Anyway, I want to write more later about the other wonderful musicians we saw (George freakin' Jones was also in the house, plus the bands that backed Elvis, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and many more), but for now I'd just like to end with those thoughts on my first - but hopefully not last - encounter with my very favorite entertainer.
Where: Schermerhorn Symphony Hall, Nashville, TN
When: November 26, 2007, apx. 10:00 pm
What: Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
And now I can die.
Okay, just kidding about the dying part, but NOT just kidding about what a momentous occasion it was for me. I have loved Garth Brooks and his music since I was a little girl growing up in Oklahoma. I literally used to cry when he would come to town and my parents wouldn't take me to see his concert because we couldn't afford it, and because it probably wasn't the ideal atmosphere for a 7 year old.
Much to my chagrin, by the time I was old enough to take myself to a Garth show, he wasn't exactly touring any more. At all. Ever. At some point he retired, really retired, from the biz and settled down with Miss Trisha Yearwood and lived on his farm in Yukon, OK and left fans like me with less than a glimmer of hope that we might ever see him again.
Just this past month Garth played eight sold-out nights of shows in Kansas City, the first time he'd been on stage in that sense in many years... and I missed that too. By the time I found out about it, tickets were being scalped on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
So today, when my friend Carolyn shot me an email and said she had some tickets to this random thing tonight and Garth was supposedly one of the presenters/performers and did I want to go, the answer was a resounding "Ef yes!"
The whole night ended up being an amazing experience of music and I want to write more on that later, but for now I'll just say that Garth was there, and he performed Elvis Presley's hit "Suspicious Minds" and it was fantabulous and I'll never forget it... how Carolyn and I clutched each others hands as we saw his trademark cowboy hat appear stage left, how he respectfully doffed said hat as the musicians he was honoring took the stage, how he grabbed Creed (yes, that Creed, from "The Office") and they sang gleefully into the mic together... seriously, it was so great!
Anyway, I want to write more later about the other wonderful musicians we saw (George freakin' Jones was also in the house, plus the bands that backed Elvis, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and many more), but for now I'd just like to end with those thoughts on my first - but hopefully not last - encounter with my very favorite entertainer.
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