I love TypePad. You can have many weblogs with separate addresses -- but there's just one "About" page. Since I'll need that for the new weblog in 2006, here is a last look at the "About" page that has been on Nashville Confidential lo these many years.
--------------
I moved to Nashville in August 2002. Even before I was an official resident, I loved all the elements that make up this town. It has a lot of opposite influences:
Saturday night and Sunday morning
Sinner and saint
Left-wing and right-wing
Stately and seedy
Modern tastes and old-fashioned values
It’s perfectly suited to my often-conflicting sensibilities.
I guess Nashville isn't easily defined. Just like me.
Keep reading the weblog; we'll figure it out together.
So what about the pictures across the top of the page?
They’re deeply symbolic. Work with me on this:
The three flags are the U.S. flag, the Tennessee state flag and the Christian flag. These fly over Lifeway Plaza. (Lifeway is the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, one of three Protestant denominations headquartered here. Publishing is the biggest industry in Nashville.) The federal courthouse, the state capitol and Lifeway are all located within blocks of my place.
The center statue is Capt. Thomas Ryman, a riverboat captain who funded and built the Union Gospel Tabernacle in order to stir a religious revival in Nashville. That effort was successful, and the tabernacle eventually was renamed the Ryman Auditorium. For many years it was the home of the Grand Ole Opry, and now it is the home of many a cool concert. (One of the best things about my place is that I can see the Ryman from my living room.) The sign behind the Ryman statue is the rear exterior wall of Gruhn Guitars, a mecca for pickers at 4th and Broadway. Many people come to Nashville just to pine after the incredible array of guitars, mandolins, etc. at Gruhn. If you’re one of them, be sure to bring your wallet.
The final image is a giant stack of stone books located outside the Main Branch of the Nashville Public Library. It’s a wonderful library and one of the things I love most about living downtown. Many of my homeless neighbors also love the library, and most evenings you will find a group of them near that stone pillar.
Here's one more picture: the backstage door at the Municipal Auditorium, a very 60ish venue in the heart of downtown. I just love this picture. Interpret it however you see fit.
So, long story short, these pics are just snapshots from my neighborhood.
Comments