Happy Thanksgiving ... and a more timely Happy Birthday

For that have never heard I do like Nashville. Some may find that strange given my frequent rapid changing of the radio if I find a country music channel but Nashville is so much more than country music. Nashville for me is about family, good food, lots of stories and the roots of music here in the US. And those roots have touched places all over the world.

It is in Studio B in Nashville where Elvis recorded over half his recorded music. You had Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash and so many more that to even think I could make a dent in the list here is ridiculous. This trip allowed me to see a lot of that. We took a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Studio B (you can see some pictures here). The best thing about it is we had a tour guide who had recorded in Studio B as a individual recording artist as well as a backup singer but also had performed in Nashville at the King of the Road hotel for many years and knew a lot of the artists personally. Now I get to call her Momma as she is Laura's mother, Kaye.

Kaye knew Chet Atkins so well that she got Jim, Chet's older brother, who first taught Chet to play guitar, to try and teach Laura to play guitar. It was not a success but Laura did enjoy the times Jim bought her candy. Kay also knew Dolly Parton well along with countless others like Brenda Lee. As we walked through the CMHoF she had stories for just about everyone and when we looked at the Hall of Fame plaque wall she knew about 2/3 of them.

Studio B was just as amazing. She was telling us how things worked in there, where people would stand for best effect and where and why she would stand as a backup singer. It was so much fun ... and we took a few pictures that you can see in the other link.

But the weekend was not just about touring musical history. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the Bell ladies as well as a wonderful evening after sitting at Laura's sister's house eating pizza and looking through boxes of old pictures and even found a copy of one of Kaye's albums. The boxes were from Laura's Dad and had lots of pictures both old and more recent. Pictures from his days as personal body guard for General Eisenhower. Again the stories about the family shed a whole new light on them but showed that no matter how challenging things become that you can overcome and if you persevere you can be whomever you want. Now there are three beautiful Bell women who each have their own success and successful families. While early days may have been challenging they still can come together on special holidays and celebrate who they are and what they have achieved.

I left Nashville with a new sense of my wife and her past. I have always been proud of her and now I see how she got to be who she was.

My wife is not the only one I am proud of ... my little sister has a birthday today. She has had her own challenges but she also perseveres. She has been taking care of my Mom and Dad, and they have been taking care of her when needed. But without each of them I know neither would have been able to be happy. I hope today she remembers all the good times and she looks forward to the good times that are left to have. We will make sure she has some of them when her and Mom come up for Christmas.

Happy Birthday Michelle - we love you!