by Noah
One night back in early 1989, a friend and I were driving up Nashville's Broadway and inadvertently drove through a red light. It was about 11:00, so, just by being up and out on the road in a town like Nashville, we were obviously suspicious characters. There was no one else on the road except for the police car that pulled us over. My friend/colleague, Susan, literally had not even seen the light and, I have to admit, it wasn't very bright or even placed directly in the normal line of sight. Anyway, the conversation went like this:
Officer: License please. You went through the red light back thar.
Susan: I'm sorry officer. Where?
Officer: Right back thar. Coupla blocks. It's a round thing, 'Bout yea big (Motioned with his hands). Let me see your friend's I.D. (I handed him my license and employee I.D.)
Me: Here you are.
Officer: She in the music business, too?
Me: Yes. Both of us. On our way back to the Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel.
Officer: I see. (Looking at Susan's Connecticut license again.) Well, go on. Be sure to tell 'em up north that we're wearing shoes down here now.
That was back in the days when you still got funny looks at a restaurant in Nashville if you wanted a green salad. Deep fried corn on the cob was considered to be more appropriate. Or maybe some nice, heavily sugar-glazed sweet potato slices swimming in cheap bourbon. Yum! Instant diabetes!
For a time, I had hopes that Tennessee would eventually fully immerse itself into the tide of the 20th century. Maybe it at least started to for a while but we're now well into the 21st century and Tennessee is giving every indication that it has chosen another direction, i.e. the 19th century. From what I've seen in recent times, Tennessee is little but an endless chain of roadside Trump Stores, gun stores, and bible verses nailed to trees.
Just a few weeks ago, we all got to see what they vote for down there when the cave people that represent them in their state legislature called out 3 members, 2 black and 1 white, who dared to protest the state's lax gun laws. As we all know, they voted to expel the 2 black legislators and keep the white one. Of course they did! Who could dare to expect anything different? Now, we see the news in the above tweet. Imagine what we don't hear about. Oh, and I imagine that if my friend Susan and I had been black back on that 1989 night on Broadway in Nashville, I wouldn't be around to be writing this.
Nashville in 1989 had come a long way since 1972, when I hitched a ride that ended in the middle of it. Several locals warned me that if a cop caught me showing a thumb, they'd give me a ride to jail. I still remember walking past the city limits in the July heat. Never set foot in the place again. I see that Tennessee's regressed.
echoes of goebbels. again. still.
and what have your democraps done about any of it? ever?