Day 67 – Nashville, TN

Most of my report today is going to be second hand information, because I stayed home all day while they were out gallivanting around. They thought that the weather was too hot for me to be in the truck most of the day, so I had to stay in the air conditioned coach catching up on my napping. Truth is, I did have some catching up to do. Even my morning walk with Don was kind of a snoozer, as I only got to meet one person who wanted to pet me. On the plus side, I got my lunch early before they left. They were gone until about five in the afternoon, in time for my dinner on schedule. Of course, they had to tell me about all the wonderful things they had seen and done, while I yawned. Let’s see, they went to the home of another long dead President, this one by the name of Andrew Jackson, who was apparently quite a character. When he was inaugurated as President, he threw a big party in the White House and invited everyone in to eat and drink their fill. A lot of people got really drunk and started a riot, and they had to call in the police and the Army to shut it down. He chased thousands of Indians out of their homelands, then adopted one Indian child. Then he invented the Democrat Party. But, before he was President, he was a really good General. Don sang me a song about him, something about how we fired our guns but the British kept a’comin, but there wasn’t nigh as many as there were awhile ago. I don’t think he sang it very well. But they said the house was very interesting, the rooms were very large and nicely decorated, and the furniture was mostly original. They thought the wall paper in the halls was particularly interesting, as it had been made to order in Paris, France. The gardens were quite beautiful, they said, and they liked the fact that many of the plants were identified. So, they were impressed with the house and grounds, though they had mixed feelings about the President himself.

Next, they headed to downtown Nashville and went to a place called Centennial Park. This was where the people of the State of Tennessee had their one hundredth birthday party, back in 1897. From the pictures they saw, it was quite a party. They built some really spectacular pavilions and other buildings, and even had electric lighting in some of them! When the party was over, they tore down or moved all of the buildings they had put up, except for one. And that was what Geri and Don went to see. It’s a full-sized replica of the Parthenon, in Athens, Greece. I’ve seen a picture of it in a book, and it looked like a wreck. But the Parthenon in Nashville represents the structure as it was when it was built, not after everyone took turns wrecking it. The said it was really remarkable and quite beautiful, and I’m sure Don will post some photos of it. They said that it also contained an art gallery of paintings that had been donated to the City of Nashville by an art collector back in the 1920’s, and that the paintings were really first rate art from back in the time when people really knew what things looked like and how to paint them. They were also intrigued by the letter that the donor wrote to the City of Nashville, where he described proudly his activities in recruiting a band of little girls and training them in military discipline, tactics and maneuvers, representing them as a Drill Team. Sounds like he was ahead of his time. Anyway, the central figure in the Parthenon was the statue of the Goddess Athena, forty-some feet tall, and covered in gold leaf. They said it was mind-boggling.

They drove through downtown Nashville, and report that it is very clean and attractive. I think they like this place. At least, they didn’t say anything that knocked it. They went out for dinner, leaving me with no plates. Oh, well, some good, some not so good days. But I got a nice treat bone and got to take it outside on the grass to chew it up. Maybe I’ll get to go with them tomorrow; guess it depends on the weather. We’ll see.