And Heading Home. Short-Lived Love @NCTEARorg, but Fruitful, Joyful, Engaging, and Just What I Needed

I first want to attest how proud I am that I made it through my 20s and 30s without ever being on a rented booze bus to celebrate a bachelor or bachelorette party nor was I a wobbling, puking, YEE-HAW drunk meandering from bar to bar in Nashville, Tennessee (during the time when I could of been). Yes, friends and I visited the city often, but in my younger years, I guess we did site-seeing. We didn't partake in the night scene.

Last night, however, post a day of phenomenal presentations, networking, and even improvisational performing (thanks Kevin Leander for allowing me to be Vygotsky Sister for the night), I went out with SU peeps for dinner and a drink. We started at a bar that served Kelly Chandler-Olcott wine in a plastic cup a few years ago, but it was seedier than a plastic-wine cup dive bar - and we departed quickly. We ended up eating barbecue, which had it share of trashed, wobbling, ready to vomit people, but in a restaurant that was on top of a bar to avoid the shit show below.

Well, there were still shows upstairs, "You lied to me," which was followed by, "We're not having this fight in the restaurant. We're taking it outside."
And they left. Much respect.

Great ambiance - perhaps they were paid actors. I'm simply counting my blessings that I survived the period between 22 and 32 with limited scars.

I'm simply happy that I don't have to work in these locations nor am I drawn to frequent them on a regular basis. The people watching was mesmerizing - all those drinking-to-forget-about-life and the country music blaring from speakers everywhere to accompany them (until the soon-to-be-married bride-mobile came by, then all you'd heard was screaming women woot-wooting to us on the streets.

I think that sums up downtown Nashville. We experienced just a blink of it, and I can only imagine all the joys that the bartenders, waiters, and waitresses have each night to bring home. I can also imagine that as they leave, what's left on the streets must paint a nasty little picture of our grotesque human species. You want to scare kids into sobriety, take them for a tour. "Look kids, this can be all yours one day."

Nope. It's several State Fairs all rolled out in one avenue of honkey-tonk bars. Leaving by 9 p.m. was a smart move (even if I did pay $30 to park).

Pushing 50 - I am admitting. I kept thinking, "Why would these people choose to take part in hell on Earth? What are they thinking?'

And then I flew home, extremely thankful to the NCTEAR hosts and executive committee.