Travelers: Mt. Olivet Cemetery

 Last Friday we stopped for a couple of hours at Mt. Olivet one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Nashville, TN for a brief paranormal investigation. We had planned to be there longer but because of different events during the day we arrived very late. We thought about skipping it and just going back another day but then decided we could use this time to get some basic photos and familiarize ourselves a little and then plan a return. 

The cemetery was founded by two Tennessee businessmen, Adrian Van Sinderen Lindsley and John Buddeke, in 1856. A little less than thirty years later Lindsley passed away and was buried at Mt. Olivet. The architecture of the cemetery is Gothic Revival and at one point there was a chapel in that style built by Hugh Cathcart Thompson, the architect of the famous Rhyman Auditorium. 

For this investigation we each carried a recorder, Meghan had her Canon rebel DSL camera, I had an infrared camera, the S-Box, and a body camera. 

We started the investigation by just pulling over and then splitting up and walking around looking at the different graves. Because it was late I did not try and find some of the more notable burials in the cemetery like Thomas Rhyman, Edward Barnard, and Anne Dallas Dudley. While reading the names on the graves we recognized many of the family names from counties and streets of Tennessee. As we got out of the car we split up with Meghan going to graves to the right of the car and me walking forward further into the cemetery. As I have done in past investigations I pulled out a few of the best captures and also uploaded to youtube a full video of all the EVPs and the S-Box session. 

The first EVP that I separated out in to its own clip was what we believe to be a residual haunting of someone saying a prayer.

I also pulled out a clip to compare an EVP that was recorded on both Meg and my recorder. 

And the final clip I separated was our favorite and one that made us certain we needed to return. I had parked across from a tall monument for the Weaver- Cole- Cheatham family.  Meg had gone there to investigate while I wandered away to some of the larger tombs. 

Meg began reading the writing on the graves out load one by one beginning with Dempsey Weaver, 1815-1880. Dempsey was one of the founders of Third National Bank in Nashville and at one time was Treasurer of Vanderbilt University. 

After Dempsey Meg moved on to his son, Thomas Weaver's family. Thomas was born in 1850 and passed away suddenly in 1911 in Florida. He had followed his father's footsteps working in banking and serving as trustee for Vanderbilt University. He married Mattie Cheatham in 1872. Her maiden name was one of the names we recognized as the county next to us is Cheatham county. From there Meg moved on to the grave of their son Richard Cheatham Weaver, 1895-1913. He was only 18 when he died of an accidental gun shot wound to the abdomen. 

Next she moved to the grave of his oldest brother Thomas Shadrack Weaver Jr, 1873-1918. Thomas 

It was at these last two graves where Meg recorded an EVP  that convinced us we have to go back. As Meg moved to Richard's grave a voice says "Hey read me". When we first listened we questioned whether in 1913 "Hey" would have been used in that way because we think of it as a more modern usage. Meg check out the etymological use of the word and indeed it dates back to the 15th century. And to further confirm the voice was Richard when she moved on to Thomas Jr we hear the same voice say "now come back." 

As we were listening to the recordings we read about the family history. The Weaver family owned a home called Seven Oaks which burned down but would have been near the Nashville Airport, and there are Seven Oaks apartments and Seven Oaks Park still in the area. Not only was Weaver a well known name but they had connections to the Cheatham family as mentioned above and also the Cole family who owned Colemere which is now a restaurant and event space called Monelle's at the Manor. We definitely had fun learning about some of the history of these families in Nashville and look forward to returning not just to revisit Richard but to see what else we can learn about Nashville and the people who once lived here.

Here is the full video including several other EVPs and our S-Box session.

Thank you for watching we have some big plans ahead in the next few months and look forward to sharing the results.

Past Investigations:

Children's Playground Huntsville, Alabama

Octagon Hall

Mysterious House of Hartford City

Shilo, Vicksburg, and Cedar Grove

Waverly Hills

The Crescent Hotel

A day around town: Exploring Nashville

If you take a vacation but stay home it is called a stay-cation. This was just one day so can that be a stay-day?

I was concerned the Stay-day, yeah I'm keeping it, was going to get derailed by an enormous amount of rain we have had in the last week or so that catapulted this February into the record books for TN. Across the state rivers and creeks rose to various flood levels. Many parks are actually still underwater because the rain may have stopped but the numerous dams around TN are releasing water at different times and the flood watch will continue for at least another 24 hours. Luckily we just had to skip one stop but the majority of the Stay-day was unaffected.

Most of out stops came from information I learned from a book my Mom had bought me for Christmas "Secret Nashville." The book listed not only odd stops around the city but gave some background information on more popular tourist spots. I looked through it to find a nice little walking tour of downtown and then we hopped in the car for a few short drives to other spots. Our day did start a little late because of a rock slide on I-24 that caused a back up and may take at least a week for T-DOT to clean up and re-open the highway. But since we were going to skip one other stop it didn't really effect things too badly. My sister and I got to my Mom's condo and picked her up and headed out to our first stop:

1. Breakfast at Biscuit Love in Franklin - so this was not from the book instead it was recommended to us by one of the valet's at the Downtown Omni Hotel. Sometimes when we are planning to go to Nashville for the day and don't want to take the bus we will drive to the Omni Hotel to get our car valet parked and then eat at Kitchen Notes inside the Omni so that we can validate our parking and basically park for free. Chances are we were going to eat somewhere and Nashville has a serious parking problem. Bonus is that Kitchen Notes is always a good meal (For lunch and dinner I really recommend the burger and stone ground grits). On the day we were there we were finally checking out breakfast at Kitchen Notes. On our way out the valet asked us how it was and told us Biscuit Love had the best biscuits around.

So on his recommendation I looked up Biscuit Love. They began as a food truck and have grown into  three brick and mortar locations. I decided to go to the Franklin location which is their newest location. Right in downtown Franklin Biscuit Love has taken up residence in the Corn House. The house is a Queen Anne style building dating back to 1892, after the original home was destroyed by fire. The Corn family moved in around 1920, they were a prosperous family and owned Lillie Mills. Their patriarch Charlie Corn was apparently a character who was known for being very welcoming with a good sense of humor. The Corn family owned the house for over 60 years and then it became an event center before Biscuit Love moved in, as a result the 1892 home is well preserved with the original wood flooring and fixtures.


Now I don't know if I would say Biscuit Love biscuits are better than Kitchen Notes but they are different and really really good. I had the "East Nasty" a buttermilk biscuit with fried boneless chicken, sharp cheddar, and sausage gravy- next to it on the menu it said "voted best sandwich in America." It was the size of the plate and I don't know I would consider it a sandwich (since in my mind a sandwich can be held with two hands and eaten) but it was amazing and I know I will be ordering it again. We also split an order of Bonuts (fried biscuit dough, tossed in sugar, topped with lemon mascarpone, served over blueberry compote) between the three of us. The lemon mascarpone was super refreshing and very light on top of the fried biscuit dough.

Overall I'm pretty sure I will be visiting the other Biscuit Love locations and since I plan on returning to Franklin to explore its rich history I am sure I will be back to Biscuit Love in the Corn House as well.

2. Next began our walking tour of downtown. We parked at the Court House parking lot and began walking along James Robertson Parkway to one of Nashville's most well known tourist destinations: Bicentennial Park. We have been to the park before but the Secret Nashville book gave some insight into details that we had no idea about. For example at the start of the park is the largest map of TN. It is granite and is set in the concrete so you can walk over it and explore the different towns and counties of TN.

Just passed the map are two large American flags each standing for 100 years of statehood. Both of them are surrounded by 8 smaller TN state flags representing TN being the 16th state. And just beyond that is a splash area for children to play in during the summer that has 31 small fountains for each of the 31 main waterways of TN. The fountains are in front of a wall filled with facts and quotes about the waterways ofTN that have played a large part in the State's history and formation.





Once inside the park we came to the two thousand seat amphitheater with a spectacular view of the State Capitol behind it. Nashville has long prided itself as the "Athens of the South" and this theater is just one more connection to ancient Greece after all the word amphitheater has its roots in Greek: amphi means "around or on both sides" and theatron meaning "place for viewing." True to the amphitheaters of Ancient Greece this one is in the shape of a semi circle with the stage at the front.



We walked up the east side of the park along the walkway of counties where each county was represented by a circle giving the name and some information about the county ranging from history and formation to famous residents. Each circle also contains a time capsule. As we walked my Mom offered the idea of traveling to each county which made me wonder if I looked up the most interesting destination in each county how long would it take to drive?

At the north end of the park we came to the Court of Three Stars and Carillon of Bells. Something that maybe I had known but forgotten or just never really given much thought for was explained, the tri-star of TN represents the three regions of the state: East TN, Middle TN, and West TN. The Carillon of Bells had 95 pillars with bells at the top, each one representing the 95 counties of TN. Every 15 minutes the bells played bits of the TN waltz. On the hour it plays more of the Waltz and then the State Capital Bell answers. Near the bells was a small building with a piano inside of it that we think can control the bells. There was also a clock monitoring the time. While the bells are automatic I do wonder if the piano can be used at special events to play different songs?

We walked back on the West Side of the park along a wall that gave the history of TN. Since we were walking from north to south we travelled back in time. A little less than half way down we came to a memorial to WWII. In the Memorial is a globe that shows paths from TN to represent the different paths troops would have taken around the globe.



Then we came to a fountain pointing out that McNairy Spring had been discovered nearby and was an important source of fresh water for early residents.




As we walked along the wall we read different historical facts ranging from formation of schools, literature, musical accomplishments, disasters, and battles. The wall is broken into several fragments during the Civil War representing the fragmented country and state.

At the end (well beginning but we were going backwards) we came to a quote from James Weldon Johnson poet, diplomat, and activist:

"And God stepped out on space, 

and He looked around and said: 

I'm lonely- 

I'll make me a world."

3. As we walked around to our next planned stop we saw a historical marker across the street. It marked the old location of the First Baptist Church that served as the headquarters for the Nashville Sit-In movement. The Nashville Sit-Ins lasted from February 13th to May 10th in 1960. The non-violent movement aimed at desegregating the downtown lunch counters.






Next we continued walking around the State Capital Building towards Broadway. At Union street we turned left and began walking towards 7th Avenue where a historical marker claimed to show the spot where the Barn Dance that became the Grand Old Opry began.







4. Two blocks further down Union Street we came to a statue of Chett Atkins playing a guitar with an empty stool next to him. As we approached my Mom commented that she has walked past the statue many times and Meghan responded "but this time you are coming to see it."

5.  Next we crossed Union street to begin walking up fifth but first we detoured to a historical marker about the Tennessee Ornithological Society, the state's oldest conservation group.











6. Stop six was at the corner of 5th avenue and Church Street but before we got there we stopped at a couple more historical markers. The first was  a marker honoring  Sarah Estell.

We also passed Woolworth's and another marker for the Sit-In movement. It was at Woolworth's and three other downtown stores that the young students peacefully and with dignity staged their Sit-Ins. Through their good work Nashville became one of the first southern cities to desegregate lunch counters. Those students and many others continued their protest and fight for rights and in 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.








Stop six was supposed to be the Downtown Presbyterian Church however the church was locked and self guided tours are not allowed. I would have had to contact them ahead of time to arrange a tour of the Egyptian Revival styled Church. The location has been a Church dating back to 1814 but the current building was built in 1848 after a fire destroyed the earlier Church.  William Strickland who designed and over saw the building of the State Capital, until his death, was called on for this building as well. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital. During WWII soldiers who were traveling through Nashville, a major hub for rail travel, slept in the church by the thousands. In 1954 the Congregation sought a new location in the suburbs and the Church was in danger of being destroyed and replaced with a parking lot. However the remaining Church members who did not want to move with the help of the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased the Church and it still stands today serving the community in a variety of ways.

7. As we walked up fifth the rest of the way to Broadway we came to the Ryman and a statue of Bill Monroe who is credited with being one of the pioneers of Bluegrass music.

And then we began walking up Broadway. The street was filled with tourists and music could be heard through the large open windows of the bars lining the street. We stepped into Music City Showcase one of the souvenir shops on Broadway and walked to the back where we found our next stop: A Willie Nelson fortune telling machine. For a dollar you can get some words of wisdom from Willie.












8. The next stop was on the way back to the car so we continued walking to first and Broadway to walk along the Cumberland and our parking garage. On the way we passed a historical marker calling out one of Nashville's first white settlers. Timothy DeMontbrun, which somehow became Demonbreun, settled and began trading furs in 1769 and became a permanent resident when he opened a store and tavern in 1790.

Also for the record it is pronounced De-mum-bree-un.





As we walked past the Hard Rock Cafe we saw a cool wall mural of a giant painter and tiny onlooker.

Then we came to Riverfront Park which due to the rain was more like River In Park. While the flooding is nowhere near 2010 it is still pretty high and you can see the steps of RiverFront Park disappear into the water. Also the statue across the River is not normally in the water.

We walked past Fort Nashborough, a recreation of the early 2 acre structure that had been built along the  Cumberland River. Included in it was a statue of James Robertson and John Donelson two of the earliest settlers and also the namesakes of two counties including mine, I live in Robertson county.














This brought us to what was supposed to be stop eight on the list. It was a brick street. When we got there though we were a little underwhelmed. The book made it sound like a unique brick or something however it was a pretty normal brick street. I've seen lots of brick and cobblestone streets which is why this didn't really stand out to me much. I mean it is a nice street but pretty typical.







9. Stop nine required a short drive across the Cumberland to East Nashville. There we found a wall mural of a hot air ballon that has a basket you can actually stand in. I love wall murals and one that allows the viewer to become part of it was to cool to ignore.

10. Another short drive away took us to a Civil War Memorial for the Battle of Nashville.

Also in the park is an Oak tree that has stood since the battle December of 1864. It has actually been classified as a Historic Tree because of the important history it has "witnessed."

11. The next stop was 40 music square west and Starstruck Entertainment. The building is surrounded by a brick wall and hidden in the wall is a heart shaped brick signifying music row as the heart of Music City.  

12. Stop twelve is truly a hidden gem in a parking garage underneath a row of stores right off Broadway and in the garage are a series of murals painted with acrylics by Brian Tull. The first one is titled "The Highway Has Always Been Your Lover." The inspiration came from a photo. The second mural is "Anabell" after Brian Tull saw Jesse Lee Jones, the owner of Robert Western World, 1952 Cadillac in an alleyway. The third is titled "Before We Abandoned It Out West" and is my favorite of the three.

Artist Brian Tull @artistbriantull

13. The next stop is an old silo in a West Nashville neighborhood called the Nations. On the silo is the image of Lee Estes, a highly respected member of the community who has lived there his entire life. I used to work near the silo and saw the stunning painting every day as I drove by. The artist is Guido Van Helten who is known for his paintings that look almost like black and white photographs.  

14. Our final stop was diner at the Patterson House a local Nashville restaurant that you could walk by and never realize it is a restaurant. It is famous for its cocktails and for strict rules about cell phone use. There are no pictures allowed inside the restaurant. 

And that concluded a great day of discovering Nashville.

A great way to kick off June: A Race, A Festival, and Hockey

I'm really not very good at this, blogging. Right now I have three posts started that I haven't finished for various reasons. They are posts from what proved to be a very very very busy May. Since I can't finish them at the moment I will say June is looking like a great follow up for May; and now we have made several plans for July; and August has the Eclipse; and this is turning into one of the busiest summers I can remember. I think I may be at the point where I have to stop making the joke: "I have no life".

This also feels like the fastest year I have ever experienced. And I know it's not just me. Meg and I spent first few days of June at our town's city hall volunteering to get ready for the Coopertown 5 mile run and Barrel festival. And there were several times where, "I can't believe it is June already" was exclaimed... I know I said it when I ran over to re-register my car because the tags expired in June and the end of May surprised me.

Meg and I had volunteered to help with packet pick-up for the race last year and we knew that we wanted to do more. I want to be involved in my town. I am invested. This is my home, my house; and I am not going anywhere. Even though I am horrible at facial recognition I look forward to going places and recognizing people and really having that small town feeling that I have always heard of or seen in movies and from people. This year we did get to do more and we learned for next year and will be able to do even more then too.

Another thing we knew we were going to do again was run the race. Last year leading up to the race we started running/walking to prepare for the 5 miles.  This year we were unfortunately unable to do that; so that was a bit of a concern but since we routinely hustle several miles at work every day I was feeling confident we would be ok. After all we only had two goals. The first was the same as last year and that was to finish. The second goal was to beat our time. The morning of the race we arrived at town hall early to help with the last minute pick up and registration. The weather was perfect with sun and temps that would be around 63 at the start of the race and 74 at the end. And as we hoped that forecast brought in a lot of late registrants. I don't know the final count but I do know it put us near or a bit over the number of runners from the previous year. About 7 minutes before the race Meg and I made our way over to the start line to get ready to run.

Much like last year we started out running by picking a spot in the distance to run to and then switching between running and walking as we felt ready. Also like last year it isn't my legs that get tired it is struggling to breathe and I know that means I need to focus on my cardio and technique while running but I haven't figured out everything. I have already learned that on early attempts I swung my arms too much and by consciously keeping my arms closer to my sides (you know looking like a t-rex) I could help increase how long I could run. The other technique I need to work at is just taking better deeper breaths.

Well I am proud to say we met both of our goals.

from runtastic.com and app

Along with the official time keeper from the TN racing commission I used an app on my phone called Runtatsic. Since I just have the basic free version it keeps track of distance/time and elevation changes. My time was actually faster but I went over to the booth to get my printed time from the TN racing guy before I remembered to turn off my app, according to the print out I finished at 1:23. Either way last year I finished at 1:28. I'm feeling like next year the goal should be to finish with under a 15 minute mile.

There are two really neat things about the race. The first is that we run on part of the historic path of the Trail of Tears. Just like I can look back on decisions I have made and realize now that they were bad or wrong decisions (whether they were decisions, actions, or words) that I am not proud of they are still mine. I do better to remember them than forget that they happened. In my opinion running on or walking or marking out for all to see where the Trail of Tears is represents a way for my town, county, and country to remember what happened and that it should not have. Sometime this week I believe bicycle riders from the Cherokee Nation will be coming over that same path as they ride the entire length of the Trail. https://www.cherokee.org/remembertheremoval/ People from our city hall and other residents will be waiting for them to pass and acknowledge what happened to their people. Hopefully this year I will be able to attend as well.

The second neat thing about the race is that when runners sign up they are given the chance to donate to a great cause that helps families in Coopertown and across Robertson County. This year the run raised 170$ for the Back Pack program which sends food home with children who have been recognized as having little or nothing to eat over the weekend: Back pack lunch. I have included the link because if you are reading this and have the money or a moment please consider following this link and learning more and possibly donating to a great local cause.

After the race it was on to the festival. Now you may be surprised to learn this :-) but on August 21st there is going to be a Total Eclipse of the Sun and the path to view Totality stretches from coast to coast across America. If you know me at all then you have only heard that once a week for the past... year and a half? Since Coopertown is right in the path and a great viewing spot I made a poster giving info about the eclipse and included two hand outs. One was a 'save the date' with the date, time, and important info and the other was an eye safety flyer that explained how best to view the partial phase of the eclipse. Included on the poster was some important information like terms that have become common vocabulary to me but may not be to others who are just learning about the eclipse. I also included websites that have been essential to my own research and preparation for this event.

1.  Greatamericaneclipse.com:  A website featuring maps and all kinds of useful information for planning a trip to the area or just understanding the eclipse better.  I included this map of TN on my poster especially because it includes my small town on it!

2.  https://www.beingintheshadow.com/: This is the website for Dr. Kate Russo a psychologist and eclipse expert whose particular interest is in the experience of the eclipse. I have used her information for community planning to try and understand better how to prepare and what to expect.

3. http://mreclipse.com/: A website by Fred Espenak and a great resource for those looking for information about photographing the eclipse. The USPS will be featuring one of his photos on a new forever stamp that will be heat sensitive to show the change in the sun and mimic the eclipse on it. Preorder is available now for the stamp at the USPS website and will be released on June 20th.

4. http://eclipsophile.com/: This website is run by Jay Anderson and Jennifer West and is a great resource for those who will be traveling to the path. I am anchored at my home but if you are along the path or outside and haven't picked a location check this site out. Look for the locations with the highest chance of clear skies and plan to travel early. You will want to be in place the day before especially if you are traveling a long distance. Check my first listed site for the maps of how many visitors are expected to each state.

5. https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ The last site is the Nightsky Network a great resource for handouts, lesson ideas, and any other info to help spread an interest and understanding of celestial events.

The poster was placed at the North entrance which is the busier of the two entrances to the festival which I appreciate greatly. There were over 5000 people to walk the festival and if even 1/10th of them stopped to look at the poster or take a hand out then that is perhaps way more people than knew before.

It was informative for many, I messed up the drawing in the center but I think it was enough to make the point. I should have connected all the lines before drawing the moon. Basically I realized while making this that my poster making skills have not improved since roughly the 5th grade.

I am excited about this event I can't express that enough and I look forward to enjoying this day with family, friends, and neighbors. Actually right now if you went to my town's website and clicked on the "what's going on link" a poster would come up directing people to email me for more info. So far no one from the town has taken me up on that but I do know neighbors from my subdivision are coming.

I have a go fund me page to help with the cost of the party. I'll include the link but if you are thinking about donating please consider the back pack lunch program first. Share my link but if you want to donate and can only choose one choose the kid's lunches.

Solar Eclipse Party

By the way at this point there are 77 days to the eclipse.

I went back and checked on my poster a few times to make sure it still had handouts and did a few small tasks for the festival but spent most of my time at the Historical Commission booth. This year the Commission had a goal to find unknown or unmarked cemeteries in Coopertown. We had a large map of Coopertown that had all the known cemeteries plotted out. As people walked by we asked them if while hiking, or hunting, or anything had they ever come across graves in woods or fields. Some were found. I had wanted to try and tape record stories of people but my tape recorder had technical difficulties.

And then because a 5 mile race and the festival weren't enough for one day Meg and I headed into Nashville to meet up with our Mom and go downtown to watch the Nashville Predators beat the Penguins. We knew the Predators were going to win that game because P.K. Subban had guaranteed a win and I believed him.

Originally we were going to take the bus down town but it must have been seriously delayed so we jumped in a cab. He was headed to pick up another passenger but we were on his way. As he was driving he held up the water bottle in his cup holder and took a sip. He said he drinks all day. We nodded and said that was good since it was very hot. He smiled. And said yes tequila. We laughed at his unexpected joke but then said no it should be gin or vodka and spent the rest of the ride discussing how different liquors make different drunks. He said that explained many of his passengers at night. We wished him a safe day as we got out and he u-turned to get his passenger waiting at one of the hotels along Broadway.

We went to Bridgestone and slipped into the plaza to watch the game on the big screen in the plaza. After game 2 they had announced that the NHL would be broadcasting from there. They encouraged fans to return for game 3 and show the country what Nashville and its fans were all about. The fans did not disappoint. They packed the streets, the plaza, the honky-tonks, and the bars. As one young man headed to the stadium he proudly held up a catfish AKA "Instrument of Crime". I'm sure he wasn't the only one either. My mom told us the fish store that she purchased fish from for Christmas and New Years Eve had bought 80 extra catfish and was giving them away for free to anyone with a ticket to the game.

I'd like to thank the NHL and Pittsburg for making a quirky Nashville stunt into a heroic gesture of loyalty.

We found a great spot with a good view of the screen then with the puck about to be dropped something really surprising and disappointing happened. They turned the screen off and announced due to technical difficulties they would not be able to show the game. They told us to head to Broadway to watch on the large screens that had been set up on either end of the street. However with the puck about to drop there was no way anyone of us would be getting a good spot. Now at least we had only been there for 5 minutes. Some of those people had been camped out all afternoon, buying food and drinks secure in the fact hat they had gotten there early to pick the best spot they could. Now their preparation was cancelled out by this late announcement. I had no doubt it was not technical difficulties. I was sure it was security and safety reasons. However what I did doubt was that they only learned about the issue two minutes before game time.

We weren't going to let this ruin our viewing. Rather than head to Broadway where thousands of fans were already standing shoulder to shoulder we headed to Demonbreun Ave and the bars that were there. We stopped outside of The Diner, a multi-floor bar and restaurant with different themes on every floor (including a coffee shop (first floor), sports bar (second floor), and sushi bar (sixth floor)). As stated the second floor was a sports bar and from across the street we could see the giant TV screens. We waited there and cheered from the street as the Preds played the first period. Along the street people in yellow and gold tee shirts walked by looking for spots to settle and watch the game.

During the period break we tried to go to another spot that my Mom had eaten at and said was delicious, Martin's Barbecue Joint. However the line was out the door and since everyone was looking to watch the game I didn't see that clearing up any time soon. We went over to the Omni Hotel which was only two blocks away to see if we could get into the sports bar there and watch the game. Even Kitchen Notes the upscale restaurant in the hotel had the game on. But we wanted a more raucous crowd and continued on to Barnotes. There was standing room only but we found a nice spot and, surrounded by fellow fans, we watched as the Predators played a strong game. Rinne was at the top of his game and the defense showed why it was #1 in scoring. With each goal the fans got louder and louder: we cheered, we slapped five, we screamed as if the team could hear us. The entire city had a buzz about it. Nashville was not going away. The fans showed what they were made of and so did the team. None of us were deterred. We trust each other. Tonight is game 4. I wish I could be downtown for this one but I have work. I know the fans who do gather there will be some of the best.


Good luck Predators! Good show Nashville!

Out of The Darkness

Well it has been over three months since I moved to TN and I have been so busy settling in I haven't had time to sit down and write. I have several posts started and just haven't finished them for various reasons. But I am skipping those to get this one out because it is very important.

My sister and I have signed up for an "Out of the Darkness Walk". It is sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  The walk takes place in Nashville on September 12th and any money raised will go to helping prevent suicide. There is a lot about suicide that I can't imagine and can't understand. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way. The person who takes their life must feel so lonely and hopeless. . . and then there are the friends and family members who are left behind with so many questions or feelings of guilt. 

I ask that anyone reading this please consider donating to my page: Jo's donor page

If you are in Nashville that day please consider joining our team and walking with us. Travellers 

If you aren't in Nashville you can look up other community walks. AFSP

If you can't donate or join our team and walk I ask that you share these links. The more people who see it the more money will be raised. 

If just one suicide is prevented because of a donation made then it is worth it because the lives effected are many. And that is what I will be thinking with every step I take. And I hope that is something you can think of if you make a donation or share this post.

Thank you

"Out of the darkness suddenly my body can take a breath
I'm coming out of the darkness finally my soul can take a rest."

A Chapter Begins.

Well I can't say this is the last time I will be making the drive from NY to TN but it is the last time I will have a vehicle so loaded up that you would change lanes to get away from me on the highway.

In case you are wondering everything made it just fine :-) I had worked and then finished loading the car before my Mom and I hit the road. Since both of us had worked we planned to drive until about midnight before pulling off at a hotel and spending the night. We were both slightly concerned about someone trying to steal from our car but it would have taken a lot of effort to untangle the mess of bungee cords. Also the hotel kindly allowed us to park in their covered entrance since that is where the security cameras were located. We slept and were back on the road by 7am.

I want to say it was around 3pm when we passed Nashville and it's unique skyline complete with the building we affectionately refer to as Batman.

Which means that around 3:30 pm we passed this sign and we were at my new home. 

There is a lot to do when you move, especially when you move to another state. I had to get my license and re-register my car. I had hoped to get both of these things done in the first couple of days that I was in TN but it wasn't meant to be. I had been able to open a new bank account but my transfer had gone through so quickly that my utility bills hadn't started coming to my new address yet. So I didn't have enough to prove address change in order to get my license. Also I couldn't register Tramp, my car - named after a Bruce Springsteen song, because I couldn't find my NY title which is probably in a very safe location in a box labelled papers . . . . or kitchen supplies . . . . we may have labelled it kitchen supplies in case the ABF truck got broken into because who cares about kitchen supplies but a box labelled paperwork has identity theft written all over it . . . literally. Anyway  I needed the copy of my NY title to arrive so that I could reregister the car. It came eventually as did some utility bulls and I now have my TN license and my truck is now officially a TN resident.

Complete with Smokey Mountain license plate

I want to say that for the first two weeks it did not feel real. I still felt like I was visiting and would be driving back to NY soon. Now that feeling has passed and I am looking forward to future backyard projects and a lifetime of memories in TN.

A quick trip to TN

We reached the point where the things that were left in NY where to large, heavy, or cumbersome for us to move alone. I started looking into moving companies but couldn't find one I liked for various reasons. Mostly I didn't like the idea of my stuff being loaded onto a truck then unloaded into another storage location or larger truck and then reloaded onto a box truck at the new location. There was way to many times when my items were being touched and could be broken or stolen.  So we returned to ABF. This time, however, we took advantage of their partnership with Moving Solutions. Three helpers from a local moving company came to my house in NY to help us pack and load the furniture into the truck. Then three helpers from a local moving company came to TN. Both times they were punctual and professional.

Since unloading the truck was going to be a lot of work and we only had a short time we decided to fly this time instead of wasting 32 hours driving to TN and back. I hate flying! But there was no way around it driving would be too much. So my Mom booked flights out of LaGuardia Airport. Usually we use JFK airport but there were no direct flights. JFK is convenient because of the air train which connects the Long Island Rail Road to the airport. For LaGuardia we had a slightly different route The Long Island Rail Road to Woodside station and from there the Q70 Limited to the airport. I got to Woodside before my Mom which gave me enough time to find where the bus stop was located. It was easy, not as secure as the air train but it was good.

The flight was less than two hours so by the time they were bringing the snack cart by we were almost in TN. I had just enough time to finish my coffee and biscoff cookie (which was delicious) before it was time to prepare for landing.

When I packed the truck I had written numbers on the paper and bubble wrap on the furniture for each bed room. So when I got to TN I put matching numbers on the bedroom doors.

This way it was easier to tell the movers which room to bring the furniture.

While I was there I was able to get a full look at the damage my dear sweet dog Schultzy had done to the laundry room door. Originally there was a cat door that she would poke her nose through when she was 'in her room'. It was cute. But at some point she realized she could make the opening bigger.  And she did.

Saturday was our day for fun. My Mom took the packing materials to the local dump while I started building four more book cases that I had sent in the truck. When Meg got back we picked a playlist from records she had recently purchased. The music choice was certainly eclectic.

And judging from the stack of boxes that we emptied we were very successful. My library is really coming along nicely (though the books aren't organized but that will be fixed when I move).

Then we moved on to Meg's new hobby of throwing knives and axes. She had recently gone to a SCA event and won a banner for her skill as a novice. So she wanted to build a target to practice with and learn. The target sadly didn't last long but I think the design was good just the wrong materials. 

We used PVC to make the frame because we wanted to do this easily and cheap. We also wanted it to be light enough that Meg could move it.Two blocks that I think are actually for a retaining wall but the had a cross in the top that fit perfectly over the 1.5 inch pipe and provided the weight we needed to hold it down. I think the wood we got was to hard. Eventually we got some knives to sink in and stay but a softer wood or tree trunk slice would have been better. The chain needed to be tighter and stronger. The target was to loose which allowed it to swing back with the knife (that also effected the knives force). One of the knives broke the chain when it was thrown and we decided that the axes would probably break the target entirely. We used my Uncle's fence for the ax throwing which had the strength to hold up to the axe weight.

On Sunday we went back to the airport and flew, sadly, back to NY. It was a quick trip but we got a lot done and getting the furniture out of our house in NY was a big step forward to get the house sold.