Hallelujah

Earlier this year, I found myself in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. On the first level of the building there is a fountain that people toss coins into. 

Back in June, I sat on the edge of that fountain and I looked at all the coins that had been tossed into the water. I people watched for a while, appreciating the audacity of women who wear shorts and cowboy boots, and then I wondered whether I should throw a coin in and make a wish. 

So that's what I did. I reached into my purse, pulled out a penny, made a wish and then watched my penny sink to the bottom, surrounded by other people's wishes. I even took a picture after I threw my penny in.

(Afterwards, a woman came up to me and offered me a free concert ticket for later that morning. Why? Because Nashville is Nashville.)

I'm not sure if you're supposed to disclose what you wish for in this kind of situation. I can say that at that point, early in the summer, I wasn't in the greatest spot in life. It wasn't the worst spot, either, but I was unhappy and I was wanting some things to change. I went on that Nashville trip specifically to get out of town, think about the future, and think about where to go and what would make me happy.

I'm glad to report that today, the second to last day of 2023, the wish that I wished for that day in Nashville came true. In fact, it came true later in the summer.

I've been very quiet on this here blog for the past six months. I didn't blog at all about that Nashville trip and I kept quiet about moving a couple of hours away to the largest city in my state. (Not Kansas City, silly. That's in Missouri.) 

On the plane to Nashville that day in June, the flight attendant made an announcement that I wrote into my phone: "Welcome to Nashville, where all of your wildest dreams can come true."

Also written down in my phone: "There are tons of airlines to choose from, and we're grateful you can't afford any of them."

Anyway, I tried to blog about that trip over the summer, but I literally couldn't do it. I sat down several times and tried to force something, but the words just didn't come out.

How can I go to Nashville and not write about it? How can I go to such a beautiful city and just ignore it on my blog?

I understand now why I couldn't write about it six months ago. I asked life for a change, and then I needed to be patient while life changed.

Back to that whole moving thing: I now live in a city. I love cities! I went to a Pentatonix concert last week and they sang my favorite song of theirs, Thank You, right in front of me and in front of 15,000 of my closest friends.

Watch the snow fall down like me sometimes
But you pick me up and then pick me up again
Like the winter leaves I can't survive
Without your light

Thank you for your smile
It's warmer than the fire
Your gentle laughter
Is sweeter than a choir
I'll never know
The right words to choose
So all I can say
Is thank you

I cried. The woman beside me hugged me. 

The encore, of course, was Hallelujah. I put my phone in my pocket, sang along to every word and didn't even try to stop the tears from running down my face. Any day you hear that song live is a pretty good day in my book.

So that's what 2023 was for me — it was a cold and broken Hallelujah. 

It was also a wish, a dream and a prayer, all of which came true. 

(Monica's note: I live in Kansas, not Nashville. I'm writing about Nashville now because sometimes stories come out months later, after they make sense.)

(Also, I met Eric Church this year. I could only say 'hi' and 'thank you' to him, but I'm pretty sure it was a mesmerizing 'hi' and 'thank you' for him. So there's that.)

Part 3 - "It just don't get no better'n that."

Part three of thishereblog is dedicated to life outside of the comfort zone.

Traffic picked up about three hours outside of Nashville. I pulled over in Kentucky to get gas and a taco truck blocked my exit.

The lady in the car beside me looked at me, and we instantly started laughing.

I tweeted: I just got blocked by a taco truck at a gas station as I was trying to leave. I’m pretty sure there’s a metaphor for life in there somewhere. #allthetacos

The amount of traffic was insane. There were carloads of women dressed like hipsters, hippies and hobos, which means one thing.

Eric Church is near, folks.

The night of the show, I parked at the stadium with no problems. I made note of the stall I parked in (#35) and I went about my night.

The first sign that something was amiss? The security guard at the gate told me that my ticket required another entrance.

I thought I had bought a seat a few rows up on one side of the stage. I don't usually like floor seats because I'm so short I can't see anything in front of me.

The security guard said I needed to switch lines and get a wristband to gain access to the field.

All right, I guess? I didn't put much thought into it.

Maybe I have to cross the field to get to my seat?

Once I found the right gate and the wristband, I took my seat on the football field. Another security guard (with beautiful blue eyes, I might add) asked me if I planned to jump on the stage during the show.

I looked at the main stage, and made a joke that I couldn't jump that far.

That's when Beautiful Blue Eyes pounded the black thing right beside him. That black thing turned out to be the stage.

My response was something like: "Holy shit. That's the stage?"

Black thing = stage.

Red dot = me.

--

During the song Some of It, EFC came to our side of the stage.

I grabbed my phone and started recording.

And just like that, my favorite singer was right in front of me, with no one in between us, singing one of my favorite songs. If you're wondering, his voice is even better in person.


What really makes you a man
Is being true to her 'til your glass runs out of sand

Some of it you learn the hard way
Some of it you read on a page
Some of it comes from heartache
Most of it comes with age

And none of it ever comes easy
A bunch of it you maybe can't use
I know I don't probably know what I think I do
But there's something to
Some of it

The very southern guy sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder. 

"Ma'am," he told me. "It just don't get no better'n that."

I know, southern man. I know.

---

Tangent time!

The cool thing about going to concerts alone is that venues tend to have pretty good single seats available.

Meaning, when couples buy their seats, a seat is usually left between them. 

At one point that night, I looked up at the stars and around at the 56,000 people dancing and rocking out. 

I cried out of happiness. 

I kept thinking about how I felt like a very small fish in a very large sea.

I also lost my car in the parking lot after the show. (It turns out that there are different lot numbers, and there are a whole lot of spots marked #35. Oops.)

I heard my favorite Eric Church song in Nashville on a perfect night on a perfect trip.

I had no idea I bought such a good ticket.

Beautiful Blue Eyes: "Well, consider this the best mistake you've ever made."

It wasn't until I saw a photo from up top that I realized how lucky I was in buying my seat.
When the lights finally went down, I looked around. Holy shit, I thought.

EFC opened the concert on our side of the stage. No one around me even saw him walk up to the mic. All of a sudden, he was right in front of us.

After a few songs, he started to talk, while slowly looking around at the more than 56,000 people in the NFL stadium.

His first thought when he saw all of the people (in his words): "Holy shit. Son of a bitch."

:)



--

There were six seats in the row I was sitting in. A very nice woman, around my age, dragged her parents to the show from Florida. Beside them was a couple from Chicago.

A concert is only as fun as the people around you. My row was a blast and my new found friends talked to me the entire night.

Yeah there was the occasional drunk alcoholic idiot who couldn't keep it together, but it was mostly fun. There was also a drunk guy dressed like a priest. The security guards danced in the aisles with him.

Like I told my Mom: It's Nashville. Anything goes.

(The irony is not lost on me. The priest went to Church.)

And, might I add, Beautiful Blue Eyes security guard knew the words to every single song that night.

That was not lost on me, either. Everyone loves EFC.

---

I'll also point out that there was a couple in front of me making out the whole show and I did not toss my cookies like I did in January.

Yea progress!

I'm getting better at this whole life thing.

--

Life is not always pretty, but dammit, it can be downright beautiful sometimes.

The song that got me hooked on EFC was Record Year.

After looking at my video for this song I took in Nashville, EFC changed some of the lyrics up. He changed to word 'if' to the word 'when.'

I fell in love with his music because of this perfect break up song.

His change to the song was brilliant.

When you find your way back 
I owe you a beer
For my record year

It just don't get no better'n that.

--

Since you turned the tables on me

I've been steady and learnin' lonely
Keepin' this turntable spinnin'
Everything from Jones to Jennings
Slowly plannin' my survival
In a three foot stack of vinyl
Since you had to walk on outta here
I've been havin' a record year

I bet you thought before you left
I'd just sit in silence by myself
Turn this house into a jail
Dyin' slow in a livin' hell
But love's got a funny way of keepin' score
And your leavin' lit up my scoreboard
I usually make it through side a sober
All bets are off when I flip her over
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer
I'm havin' a record year

Quarter notes and Hank's half time
Are poundin' on this heart of mine
Song to song, I pass my time
With these speakers on ten
Your good and gone keeps me up all night
Along with Songs In The Key Of Life
I'm either gonna get over you
Or I'm gonna blow out my ears
Yeah, you're out there now
Doin' God knows how, and I'm stuck here
Havin' a record year

Your leavin' left me goin' crazy
I'm countin' on a needle to save me
I drop it in the groove
And we go 'round and 'round
And down in a spiral
I guess I really oughta call and thank you
I rediscovered Red Headed Stranger
Got down with old James Brown
And found New Grass Revival
If you find your way back, I owe you a beer
For my record year

Quarter notes and Hank's half time
Are poundin' on this heart of mine
Song to song, I pass my time
With these speakers on ten
Your good and gone keeps me up all night
Along with Songs In The Key Of Life
I'm either gonna get over you
Or I'm gonna blow out my ears
Yeah, you're out there now
Doin' God knows how, and I'm stuck here
Havin' a record year
Yeah, I'm havin' a record year

Part 2 - "If you learn anything from Jack, it's that you shouldn't go to work early. It can kill you."

My favorite part of the trip was the morning that I spent driving to Lynchburg to see the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Yes, please.

I've been made fun of in the past for planning everything to death. I am that person who will make a to-do list, and then make a to-do list to make sure everything on my first list gets accomplished.

On this trip, I made it a point to not plan anything. I had my Airbnb reservations set in advance, but that's the only planning I did.

I talked to my Mom when I stayed in Saint Louis on the first night of my trip. She asked me how I was getting to Nashville, and what highways I planned to take.

My answer: "I have no idea. That's tomorrow's problem."

She asked me what I had planned the next day, presumably so she would know where to guide law enforcement if I mysteriously vanished.

My answer: "I have no idea. I'll figure that out tomorrow."

On my first afternoon in Nashville, I went downtown. I was nervous about the parking situation. Actually, that's a lie. I was terrified about parking.

It turns out that parking is not a big deal.

Getting there, on the other hand, is a very big deal.

I've never seen traffic that bad.

When I finally got through traffic and parked, I sat in my car for a really long time (with the AC on). I thought about whether I wanted to get out of the car.

I don't know how to describe it if you haven't been there. There are cars and people and pedal taverns and scooters and did I mention people everywhere?

It's overwhelming.

I wasn't willing to do Broadway two days in a row, so I decided to get up early on my second day there and drive to Lynchburg.

I set my GPS on my phone, but it turns out that I didn't need it. Everyone else who came to Nashville that day who hated the crowds had the same idea I did, and all I had to do was follow the stream of traffic two hours south.

Did I mention how beautiful it was?

Everything is perfect there, from the perfect little roadside fruit stands to the perfect white picket fences to the perfect cows grazing on perfect green grass.

The hay fields looked perfect. The farms had perfect dogs on them.

Literally every little thing is beautiful there.

Fun facts about the distillery:

• Jack's real name was Jasper. (My parents have a dog named Jasper. Go Jasper!)

• Jack died of an infection. He went to work early one day and the person who usually opened the safe wasn't there yet. Jack kicked the safe out of anger, and eventually died because of that incident. Our tour guide: "If you learn anything from Jack, it's that you shouldn't go to work early. It can kill you."

The safe that Jack kicked.

• One barn on the property holds 20,000 barrels of Jack, which is $14 million worth of product. There are 89 barns on the property. If you do the math, you'll learn that I can't even multiply that high.

• The spring they get their water from is 56 degrees. In the Tennessee summer when it's about 100 degrees outside, standing by that spring feels pretty good. I went back and stood by it again after everyone in our tour had left.

• Although Lynchburg is in a dry county, you can buy a "commemorative bottle" at the distillery. That bottle just happens to have whiskey in it. Funny how that works.

• During the tasting portion of our tour, our tour guide had us mix Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire together. It was my favorite combination.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. I don't know how or when this was placed on my bucket list, but it was and it's something I've proudly crossed off.

I drank Jack Daniel's in the place that it's made.

Life is good.