Midnight in Montgomery

 Mondays are not my favorite, so I try to tell a story that puts me in a better mood. Music always puts me in a better mood, so Mondays I tell my best Music moments. Feel free to join me! I will link back to you if you do…

 

 

Well it wasn’t really midnight when we rolled into Montgomery, but it was raining.

Something seemed almost soulful about the pouring rain in Alabama, and I kept hearing that old song play through my head. I wanted to soak in the spirit of ol’ Hank. Of course that was a little bit challenging when 8 kids kept saying “I’m hungry. Mama, I’m hungry!”

I love music and I love history, so of course I love the legendary stories of country music. I don’t think it matters if you like country music or not. I listen to all kinds of music, but country tells stories in a way that no other genre can touch. You just have to respect that there is some amazing history in there. There are tragedies, tears, and a whole lotta rising up against all that! Even though we still had many miles to go, my husband gave into my curiosity and drove me down the Lost Highway.

I’m not really much for visiting graves, to me, you don’t find what you’re looking for there. But I wasn’t looking for a loved one, I wanted to see a monument, so I made an exception to my own rule, and when we got there, I could feel the love for a man who was lost way too soon in his life.

The rain somehow stopped just as we hit downtown Montgomery. As we weaved our way through the old streets, I fell in love with the beautiful old buildings, the stained glass of a chapel that has probably stood there a hundred years, I have always loved the way old downtown squares are like a window back in time. You can see the old store fronts and imagine life in a different era.

I doubt my children could grasp the history floating around. But for a moment we paid our respects to the first super star of country music.

So far our vacation was shaping up to be a bit of a musical journey anyway. It started with a tour of Graceland. Then it grew with some karaoke in Memphis! After a day of driving for hours, and then touring the mansion, we saw a sign for a Poncho’s and we were thinking it was the long lost Mexican Buffet we used to frequent, and we figured the kids would get a kick out of raising the little flag for some sopapilla’s. Turns out it wasn’t the Poncho’s we were expecting, but they had karaoke, so all was not lost!

The second they started signing people up, Blondie put her name in the line to sing a few songs, and she quickly made a few new fans.

There is something so soulful in her voice, that just can’t be captured on YouTube. But people felt it. They felt it in Arkansas, they felt it at Poncho’s, and they felt it in Nashville. Everywhere she went people were captivated by the voice pouring out of her. And she was captivated by the different world she had the chance to peek at.

When we walked through Graceland; we saw the history just come alive.

We were imagining the king of Rock n Roll sitting on the old leather couch, playing a game of pool, trying to be just a regular Joe, and then we walked into the room filled with gold records, and I could see the awe on Blondie’s face.

I have always loved nostalgia: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean,  Coca-Cola, and 53 Corvettes! Did I mention that when I was a baby, Elvis patted me on the head and said I was cute? That’s my claim to fame!! (If only there had been cell phone cameras back then!)

I don’t know if any of my kids will ever share my love for the stories of yesterday, but I do know this: they were all excited to be at the  king of Rock n Roll’s house, and they wouldn’t mind one bit if someone let them take a spin in some wheels from back then!

And me, well I’m just glad that we were on the Lost Highway as opposed to being Lost on the Highway! I can say GPS has changed vacationing forever! No matter what you need, you can find it with a Google search and some coordinates, just make sure you always include what state you’re in, because you wouldn’t believe this, but we saw a Somerville in every single state we passed through! At one point I couldn’t help but crack up at the fact that most of the cities and towns we passed through were repeated  names we already knew.

It just makes me wonder who got to name all the places? Was it the same guy who went around and named 5 or 6 towns, and then moved over a state and repeated himself? Whatever the story is, I know this, originality is not required when naming places. In fact, I think oneday I am gonna make a point to visit every single Somerville I can find, just to see how many state lines I cross! So far, I found 7 of them!

Now I know you’re loving my vacation tales, and hate to see me end this one, but I’ve got to go. I took way too many pictures, and I’m not exaggerating, I took 1,418 shots!  I’m still trying to group them together but my eyes are starting to burn from the glare of the monitor, and I only have 17 piles of laundry to put away and one very messy car to clean out! Don’t worry, I’ll be back, just as soon as I can call the house Husband-ready!  Lucky you, his standards aren’t that high! 🙂

If you like this blog, please give a little click! No form, nothing else to click on, just click once and it will register a vote for Life With Blondie!