What we miss from Tennessee

Cooool, thanks to all of you who gave feedback on the last post. The stuff I write and the crap I say is read. There was even a hint that there is still a big gap in our travel reports. Thus, Doris has proven that we are being watched at every turn. That’s because she has found that the “What We Miss From…” series still needs to be filled with impressions of Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. So Doris – the slap sits – I massage the keyboard. 😉

What we miss from Tennessee

We – or at least I, Thomas – had certain expectations of Nashville. Hey, it’s the city of music, country music. Here, in my imagination, music is played on every corner. Future country stars are standing on the street corner, strumming their guitars and warbling their songs. Yep, romantic notion. OK, to a certain extent it’s true that music is played almost on every corner here. Nowadays, it’s going on in the bars. There is then a stage where the musicians are on it and play their self-written pieces or cover versions. And because everything is technically supported these days, so are the musical instruments.

Nashville the loud musician city

Man-o-Man… at this volume you need earmuffs – not to protect your eardrums but to keep them in your ears. So we were in such a bar and enjoyed, for maybe 20 minutes, the music. Then we had to get out quickly. I think I’m going to buy stock in a hearing aid company based in Nashville, Tennessee soon. What we miss from Nashville, really miss, is this idea of an idyllic musician’s town. It is and will remain a big city and with it skyscrapers and concrete-steel buildings.

But there is something that fulfills the country music town stereotype. There are plenty of stores here that sell cowboy hats and cowboy boots. For me, as an ex-cowboy, a dream. Yes, Ex-Cowboy. As a teenager, I went horseback riding while others chased a white and black round leather ball. So at least once I too chased after a white and black leather piece. That was when the horse threw me off. Then I was seen chasing after a white and black trotting leather thing called Polo.

Boots and hats everywhere

Cowboy boots galore and every kind of cowboy hat imaginable – everywhere. There is sometimes even an offer made that if you buy a pair of boots, you get a second pair in addition. Do you know the rat squirrel named Scrat from the animated movie “Ice Age”? Yes? There was a scene when Scrat was in acorn heaven and saw acorns all around him. I was in cowboy boot heaven. All cowboy boots. Sooooo cool…

Hey, if an offer is “buy a pair of boots and get a second pair” then you have to grab it. Especially since these things, boots, they last a lifetime. With it you can run through the desert like John Wayne back then in the movie “Tracks in the Sand”. And then a look at the prices… Danger of heart attack… The wallet starts with the siren general alarm (sounds like)… no idea why just general alarm – anyway, the part howls off in the pocket. A pair of boots costs $800 – gulp. No, that’s too expensive for me, even if I could walk through the desert with it and the things last a lifetime.

So then, next stop North and South Karolina.