NashVegas ~

It's Christmas Eve Day morning, to be technical about it, very early morning, in fact. By the standards of the last two nights, though, it's early in another sense. 48 hours ago we were just getting into serious mileage on the Night Train to Nashville, and 24 hours ago, it was Vegas, baby -- NashVegas.

Caroline's TuckBuddy Bryan wanted to go to the Station Inn in downtown Nashville to hear the Time Jumpers, a Western swing band that plays there every Monday night, and of course I was game, notwithstanding the short night's sleep of the night before. We headed on down there in the bracing 20F/breezy temps and made our way in for a pleasant couple hours of music that was as familiar and comfortable as an old shoe. Another C-friend, Dave Dean, joined us as well. I got a powerdoze in that kept me going until we headed for the door.

"Can we talk you into one more stop?" Caroline asked me as we left. Though I was dragging, I was not going to be the guy who said no to more music in Nashville. Dave initially demurred but then manned up and tailed us in his car. So soon we were on the strip in the heart of downtown, and wound up doing not one but two different places. I handed C the car keys and paced myself with three margaritas that added a certain j'ne c'est quois to the affair, and we didn't roll out until about 2:40am -- and that's Central time. It was fun. Nothing like a town where music is the Business, and guys on stage who look like balding bookkeepers can rip off effortless riffs on a pedal steel while looking slightly bored.

The guy not smiling back at me from the mirror when I rolled out of bed this morning about five hours after I rolled in was nonetheless satisfied that he had gotten the requisite Taste of Nashville for this trip. Today we wrapped presents and consumed wonderful leftovers for lunch before having Holly's BeBe Tribute Meatloaf, of which there was about an inch left when we were done. Late this afternoon Dr Brado and I ferried the A/Bus over to the WalMart parking lot so as not to offend his neighbors here; in the process the wind whipped the entry door out of my hand as I disembarked and slammed it wide open, re-bending the restraint bracket at the top of the door and yanking half the stainless-steel screws out of it. I was glad it was me that did it. And mortified.

This eve B&H, C and I watched "The Dark Knight" on DVD, with apologies to Rew (who'll join us tomorrow and has seen it dozens upon dozens of times -- literally). It's a great movie, though of course a bit intense. BeBe made a chocolate chip cake while we did so, bless her heart.

Outside the wind is really howling and there are rain squalls as the temps creep upward. It will be an interesting Christmas Eve day, weather-wise, but wonderful as the RewCor arrive to make The Fam complete.