into an incredulous grin. Wow, thank you, Bon- nie!
We caught up on family news, laughed a
lot, cried just a little and asked and tried to an- swer some searching personal questions. And we shared from our different perspectives our best observations on just what happens deep inside
I‘d snapped him against the backdrop of the dis- tant Nashville skyline. Meanwhile across the road, Robert watched me taking pictures for sev- eral minutes before we got into conversation about his own tale: an ex-marine with his share of difficult memories from the Middle East and now stranded with a burnt out car after coming up from Florida for treatment at the Vanderbilt. Our lives intersected just for that moment and then with good wishes and a handshake, we carried on as before. I hope Robert’s faring better today. A few days later, the rain was drizzling
Peter with Bonnie and Bekka Bramlett.
when an artist performs and an audience tunes in. I’ve grown up practicing fairly tight control of my emotions but the singer digs deep, aims to kick aside any such barriers and shares it straight from the heart. It doesn’t matter that the details of the story being told don’t closely match my own: when it works, I can relate and suddenly I have a different voice. And as I found out again on this trip, that voice can also be a guitar. I’d get quickly out of my depth if I tried to analyse fur- ther but, yes, it’s spiritual… in some kind of way. One of the delights of a holiday is just
breezing through new and different scenery that takes you right out of the pressure cooker of work and home. A simple walk in the neighbourhood had my spirits soaring and I found myself taking pictures and wanting to exchange comments with the few people I met along the way. Halloween is different here. Book lending is different here. The use of flags is different here and the post boxes were all on the same side of the street, for easier delivery. I was feeling lighter already. “I hope you’re not taking a picture of this
ugly mug,” said the stranger, placing his hand gently on my shoulder as he walked by, just after
33 Downtown Nashville.
down but the sun was shining in my heart as I en- joyed getting to know Nashville on foot. After hearing about the town all my life, it was impossi- ble to remember all the people and events that had shaped the place and its unique position in the music, social and political world. But what a great way to register everything afresh and de- velop your own feel for its identity and character. All in all, I warmed to the place, with its fairly compact centre, picturesque in parts and still coming to terms with its past but apparently con- fidently so. My few exchanges with strangers were beyond just friendly and the word ‘respect’ kept coming to mind, again and again. A big highlight of this trip was meeting
Bekka Bramlett, Bonnie’s daughter and, amongst lots of other things, star of a recent issue of Kud- zoo. Up in the hills just north of Nashville, I
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